X Days
by Hyoxjnn
Summary: Taking place long after the events of The World Ends With You and X Days -Marked-, where an earthquake has destroyed part of Shibuya; a new cast of Players fight to survive in the Remixed Reapers' Game, but more than their own survival is at stake here... Follows X Days -Marked-
1. Chapter I - Prologue

**Um... Is this how you put an Author's Note...?  
I was under the impression that it was an integrated feature XD**

**Well anyway... This is the first ever chapter I've written~  
Kind of scared o_o  
Anyway, I hope you enjoy it, I realise that it's rather short, and maybe... Terrible.  
But anyway, "From little things, big things grow," right?**

**Oh, by the way the 'X' in "X Days," isn't just the letter 'X', and it's not the Roman numeral for '10' either.**

**Just Saiyan c:**

**Annnyway, I love The World Ends With You, so I hope that... This...**

**I'm going to stop talking now, I think I'll just let you read XD**

**"Typing," "I'm going to stop typing now," that's what I meant :P**

**SHHKRTTZ.**

**ENJOY. PLEASE.  
If you can :'|**

**...**

**...  
... "Anyway" :3**

* * *

**Chapter I – Prologue**

Katy slashed through the last Noise Symbol before it could touch her; another clean Erasure, but she wasn't done yet; she kept running.

"Where's the source...?" she whispered, talking to herself.

Years of being alone will do that to you.

_Wait!_ She thought to herself. Skidding to a halt, Katy whipped around and ran back the way she came, and stopped in front of an alleyway that she had just passed, but it wasn't the alleyway itself that was interesting.  
Katy didn't have time to waste, but she stood there anyway; she thought she'd heard it...

Katy waited silently for the next 3 seconds. Eyes closed, ears open.

"... -o ar-... Other girls?"

"Jus-... -ight?! It's-... -g on bet-... -Us!"

Katy opened her eyes, which were shining their usual bright violet, and grinned triumphantly.  
_That way!_

* * *

Wasting no more time, she dashed down the narrow space, following the muffled noises of...

"An arguing couple..." Katy realised as she broke into a wide street and paused to catch her breath, slightly harsher than usual.  
_Classic_, she mused as she made her way over to them: A short, thin teenage girl and a tall, wiry young man.

The girl was yelling something about the man, who was doing a very poor job of defending himself, spending too much time with other girls.  
Katy wasn't really listening to the noise though, it'd be gone soon.

"Just like you," Katy spoke to the Noise attached to the couple. Not 'noise' as in a sound, of course; a Noise: An ethereal manifestation of stray Imagination, or strong negative emotions. This one was made up of both, however; a Negative Noise.  
Katy raised her hand and pointed at the Noise with the object grasped in it:  
A plain, black designer's pin.

Registering the Pin as a threat, the Noise launched itself at Katy; although 'tried to' would've been more accurate: The Noise moved no more than an inch before being Erased by a bolt of flame from Katy's Pin.

Instantly, the arguing stopped.

"I'm... Sorry Michael, you're right... I should just trust you."

"I'm sorry too... Let's spend more time together, Camila," breaking into twin smiles, the couple shared a hug that Katy thought should definitely be captured and pasted into some cheesy love film.  
Wearing a slight smile of her own, Katy eyes dropped down to look at her right hand; the Mission Timer, which had stopped on 28:26; it blinked once from deep blue to light blue before rapidly dropping to 00:00, and vanishing.

"Noise Erased, noise erased," Katy chanted, permitting herself a small, yet dignified giggle at her own joke.

_Beep_

Katy had pulled her Re:Phone out of her shoulder-bag before it beeped, since she had been expecting it to, but having her attention didn't stop it from making its familiar call. Someone once told her that 'Re:Phone' was meant to be the portmanteau of 'Reaper' and 'phone'; her normally ladylike manner had been momentarily shattered upon hearing that:

"That's... Unbelievably stupid," she had said.  
Regardless of how bad it was named, the Re:Phone did its job and displayed what the message she was anticipating.

[Seven-Star Mission Erase the Noise Cleared. Time Retrieved: 11942 Seconds. Bonus Time: 22848 Seconds. Total Time Reward: 9:37:02]

_About nine and a half hours... I suppose it'll have to do._  
Katy's Existence Timer rose to 15:00:32, but she wasn't looking at it, her shining violet eyes were instead directed skyward, gazing blankly at the clouds, a carefree expression on her face.

_So sad... All this negativity... I haven't changed anything._  
Katy closed her eyes, hiding their brilliant violet glow beneath her gentle eyelids.  
_Same streets... Same crowds, too... Same Noises... Same buildings zig-zagging across the sky..._ _Yeah..._  
Katy lowered her head, opened her eyes, and faced forward; her carefree expression replaced by one of bittersweet frustration.

_Shibuya hasn't changed a bit._

* * *

**Hi :3**

**So yesss, mysterious~  
'Existence Timer', 'Re:Phone', 'Seven-Star Mission'  
The rules of this Game will be quite unfamiliar to you.**

**So, I hope it wasn't... "Terrible"  
I'm just trying to get into the... 'Flow' of writing, as it were.**

**Pleeease give constructive feedback if you have le time to spare *Thumbs-up*  
No flaming please ;_;**

**I'll let you go here, have a nice day!**


	2. Chapter II - Ruined

**Yes~  
I am back for moar XD  
You may have noticed, I'm big on emoticons :3**

**First off; a big thanks to Crow's Gamble and 'Jack' for their reviews (can you check people's gender on this site?)  
I felt like my writing wasn't as bad as I thought XD  
I had previously only read one of Crow's FanFictions but I checked some more out and I recommend you do the same if this chapter fails to provide you with entertainment ;_;**

**Also! I'm sure you've seen one before, but in case you didn't know what it was called: Wikipedia wiki/Intermodal_container  
(When I say 'Shipping Container' in this chapter, I'm referring to that)  
... And now you know that the story includes shipping containers- I just spoiled the whooole plot. Dayum.**

**In any case, please enjoy!**

* * *

**Chapter II – Ruined**

Leo vaulted across the gap between the two buildings, landing cleanly on the other rooftop, but it wasn't over yet; he kept running.  
_Maybe that'll stop them..._ Leo thought to himself as he dove through an empty window pane; the instant he was in the air he stole a glance behind him, reaffirming that his five pursuers had not given up the chase; he laughed.  
_Yeah, right._

Duly noting that his laughter seemed to infuriate the five thugs chasing him, Leo landed smoothly on the floor, and rolled into a low crouching position; he quickly surveyed his surroundings,  
_Looks like this was a... Reading room?_  
'Was'. In other words, 'Before the earthquake struck'.

Shibuya had been hit by an earthquake four years ago, an 8.5 on the Richter Scale; the entire city suffered heavy damages, but the north-east quarter of the city was completely decimated: Windows shattered, walls fell, ceilings collapsed.

The room that Leo was currently squatting in wasn't so bad, however; planted on the roof of a larger building, the walls were intact, and three quarters of the ceiling remained where it should be.

Leo grimaced as he heard the yelling behind him getting closer,  
_That'll have to do._ He sighed to himself as he made a break for the wall; slamming a foot into it once, twice, he used his momentum to climb out of the ruined reading room and kept running.

* * *

Shibuya was a very unique city; no two people were the same. Though that sentence could be used almost everywhere else, it was especially true here.  
People were fiercely independent, everyone had their own ideals and creeds; if you visited Shibuya, you would find it very difficult to find something as commonplace as a club; 'Shibuya' didn't rhyme with 'compliance'.

There were one or two exceptions to this 'Everyone for themselves' rule, unfortunately the only ones were when something shallow was involved, such as a popular celebrity or fashion trends; there, you would find people moving together. Almost like sheep.

But after the earthquake, some things changed.  
Everywhere north-east of Miyashita Park was barred off, being deemed 'Unfit for human residence', but many found a strange charm in the (unofficially named) Ruins of Shibuya; no-one was permitted to enter, so if anyone _did_ get in, there would be no one to answer to.

Many buildings were still structurally sound, and the rugged look of the cityscape gave one the impression that they had discovered some lost, ancient town.  
Free-running became very popular in the Ruins, and became the main way to traverse the area; while sneaking into the Ruins wasn't extremely difficult, transporting a vehicle in without detection was near impossible.

Due to everyone's mutual enjoyment of free-running, the Ruins became a home to a sort of subculture, based on 'Complete Freedom', some making temporary, even permanent residence in the stronger buildings.

Leo thought back to when he first found his way to the Ruins; he had learned that, in the absence of any form of authority, a system based on 'gangs' and 'territory' had developed; despite the formation of 'gangs', people maintained a clean friendly society, but for some that wasn't enough.

_The White Skullers..._  
The name echoed through Leo's mind like a child's shout on a mountain range.  
That was the name of the gang who had taken things too far.  
The White Skullers was a gang comprised of five former prison inmates; strangely, they decided to all wear black business suits, giving them a mafia-like appearance.

Their attire was clearly not store-bought, however; running, fighting, and the like did nothing to wear their black suits out; they had likely been custom-made for them from their 'friends'.  
All had committed relatively minor crimes, such as larceny, however their records made it difficult for them to live in Shibuya's civilization.

But here they flourished; here there were no rules.  
It started with thieving from others, then it escalated to violent attacks on other gangs; their opponents were usually tough enough to escape without serious injury, but meanwhile, the White Skullers had secured a position where no-one wanted to cross them.

* * *

"_PFFT!_" Leo, who had in the middle of a slow inhale with his mouth closed, let out a short burst of air, stopping just short of actually laughing.  
_Dammit_, Leo continued to laugh to himself in spite of his unfortunate position.  
_There's no way they didn't hear that!_

Abandoning his make-shift hiding place, (an empty cardboard box,) Leo descended down an empty elevator shaft to evade his hunters, who had indeed heard his stifled laugh.  
Leo observed that two of the White Skullers had seemingly fallen behind as his thoughts drifted back to what had made him laugh: His first moments in the Ruins...

Competitions were a regular thing in the Ruins, ranging from free-run contests to simple brawls, however it was always clean, and no-one was severely hurt.  
For the White Skullers though, it was a serious issue of pride; they had lost only once in a free-run contest, one member of the opposition thought that it would be clever to 'teach them a lesson', by laying a few harmless traps to slow them down; when the White Skullers saw this, they proceeded to track the gang down and thoroughly beat them down.

One day, Leo had decided to venture into the Ruins; wearing his favourite black hoodie, Leo spent the rest of the day leaping across rooftops, pretending he was a bird in flight.  
That is until a roof, unfortunately weakened more than the others, gave way as he touched down on it. Leo crashed through into the room below, right where another White Skullers brawl was taking place; the resulting chaos ended in the White Skullers losing a contest for the second time.  
Luckily for the rival gang, the White Skullers blamed their loss on Leo, who despite his sincerest apologies would become a target for the rest of his life.  
Literally.

* * *

Leo finally stopped, perched on a roof.  
_Looks like that's it for today..._  
Despite the White Skullers' intimidating presence, Leo was simply much faster and much more agile than all of them combined, and as such, he had now successfully forced them to give up 108 times.  
But this time would be the last time they gave up.

Leo heard the whistle of the metal pipe through the air before it connected with his head, and subsequently managed to duck out of the way, escaping with a minor scrape to his temple.  
Spinning around to face his attacker, he found himself looking at the panting, huge mass of muscle that was the leader of the White Skullers, Reiou Shiyon.

"Thought you'd run away again, eh? Well, I've got you this time, kid!"  
Forcing himself not to laugh at the big man's manner of speech, as well as his ridiculous American accent, Leo realised that he was indeed cornered.  
But he wasn't helpless.  
The metal pipe crudely swung through the air again; it was promptly struck out of the wielder's hand by a well-placed kick from Leo.

"Th' hell!?"  
_That's right, you've never seen me fight before, have you? Well let's see how you go..._  
In terms of muscle and raw power, the White Skullers leader had the clear advantage, but this wasn't an arm-wrestle; speed and reflex counted, and Leo had those in spades.  
Consecutively parrying the thug's clumsy blows, Leo ended the fight with a swift uppercut to the jaw, followed by a sharp kick to the solar plexus.

"_Ugh!_" Shiyon dropped to the ground, fighting the impulse to empty his stomach's contents onto the rooftop.  
Confirming that his opponent was not seriously injured, Leo started to walk away, before a ragged voice called from behind him.

"You... I'm gonna kill you...!"  
But his threats were not heard; Leo had already left the rooftop.

Perhaps if he had stayed and listened the next day would've turned out differently.

* * *

Leo rubbed the side of his head gingerly as he recalled the events from the day before.  
_Damn... A little slower and I'd be wearing an eye-patch on my right..._  
This small injury did not change today's plans: To explore the industrial section of the Ruins.

_That place was closer to the epicentre of the quake, so the buildings are worse off. Since no-one goes there, I might find something new!_  
The prospect of buried treasure, prototype hoverboards, and old tyres filled him with excitement; forgetting about the dull pain in his temple, Leo set off; mentally listing all of the places he could install a tyre swing to.

_Ooh... That's a car factory isn't it?_  
Standing on a tall, old storage building, Leo scanned the area for movement, grinning upon seeing nothing.  
_... Hah, I knew it. This place is too dangerous even by Ruins standards. No-one would ever even think of setting foot here-_

At that moment, Leo heard the distant sound of footsteps and turned around to see a figure running, quite fast, into view on the rooftops a ways from him.  
_What._  
An exasperated expression took over Leo's face as he realised that he wasn't the first one to explore this far; the figure was further inside the factory than he was.

_Ah well, I guess I could ask him about th-_  
It suddenly became apparent that the figure was actually a young girl, though her clothes looked more like those of a...

"... Soldier," the word spilled from his mouth without his consent. He started examining her clothing as he walked leisurely towards her.

_She looks just like a soldier... Hair braided back... She's got a short-sleeved green shirt... __**Over**__ that black long-sleeved top.  
She's even got... fingerless combat gloves...? And are those camouflaged pants? There aren't any plants nearby- Not even anything __**remotely**__ green around here. __**Why**__ would you do this...?_

_... Although I'd be lying if I said it didn't look good, even those shoes-_  
Leo's thoughts stopped there as he noticed something peculiar...

"... Sparks?!"  
Leo was right, whenever one of the girl's shoes left the ground, there was what appeared to be a small burst of green electricity, sparking around her feet.  
_Well that's... Strange, to say the lea- WHAT._

The girl had just begun scaling a wall; that in itself wasn't overly impressive, Leo had seen it many times before; it was a basic free-running technique.  
However as the girl leapt towards the wall there was what appeared to be a miniature explosion of electricity on the ground where her feet pushed off.  
_It's the shoes! Something in the shoes is... Assisting her. Come to think of it, she __**was**__ running pretty fast, I'd say she's a bit faster than me right now..._

Leo picked up speed, intending to catch up to her, noting the appearance of more sparks where her feet came in to contact the wall; her hands grasped the edge of the wall, and as she pulled herself up, small arcs electricity jumped around her gloves.  
_Her gloves too... I wonder how that works..._

Leo had been so shocked by the mysterious girl, that up until now, he had failed to notice that she wasn't just running; she was running from...  
_White Skullers!_ Leo's focus snapped towards the five familiar faces that were trailing along after the girl, not yet noticing Leo.

The White Skullers were about 10 metres from the wall that the girl had just scaled, any moment now; they would climb the wall and continue after her...  
But before they could get any closer, Leo scrambled up it first, knocking over some empty oil drums; that would take a minute or so to get past.

"You!"  
Looking down at Shiyon, who had called out at him; there was a moment of awkward silence.  
The White Skullers leader continued to look surprised for a moment, and then stared murderously at Leo, who had a blank, innocent expression on his face.

Leo suddenly broke into a large open mouthed grin that strongly resembled the 'XD' emoticon. Having amused himself at the gang's position, Leo left them to sort out their problem.

* * *

Continuing along the path ahead, Leo found himself in some sort of office, likely left as it was since the earthquake; chairs were knocked over, there were shards of broken mugs on the floor, and dust and papers were scattered everywhere, only moving when a breeze passed through the empty doorframe.

In addition, the power grid seemed to have been knocked offline; the room was extremely dark. Leo's eyes adjusted quickly, but he still found himself unable to see further than 3 metres in front of him.

"A draft..." Leo spoke absentmindedly to himself, "that means that there's an exit further down... Oh," he noticed that a small amount of light was pouring in from the far corner where the roof had partially collapsed, "ceiling's collapsed... Maybe she-"

Before he could finish his sentence, he heard a sharp _buzz_ approaching him from behind; reacting on instinct, Leo threw himself forward and vaulted over a table to put some distance between him and the noise.  
Before landing on his feet, Leo noticed that the back of his neck felt slightly burnt; whatever had made the noise had not missed him totally. Finishing his landing, Leo whirled around and saw... Nothing.

_... What the..._  
_BUZZ...!_  
Leo gasped, caught off guard; in the short amount of time between him vaulting over the table to landing, the mysterious buzzing noise had moved around and flanked him from the left.

"Wait-" Leo was interrupted by the source of the buzzing noise: A crackle of light green sparks; it flew towards his face, but by that time Leo had safely leaned backwards, out of its path.

"Wait! I'm not one of them!"  
Managing to finish his sentence this time, the glowing mass of energy hesitated.

"... Stay still!" a girl's voice, surprisingly mature-sounding, cried out from the darkness.  
Leo did as he was told, but remained tense, expecting another attack.  
Though it wasn't an attack, what happened next made him flinch slightly; the soft green glow was joined by a second, and both grew more intense until the area was sufficiently lighted for both people to see the others' face.

Now close up, Leo could see that the glow was being emitted from the girl's gloves; her face was accented by the harsh light, and her already-green eyes were enhanced to look line an even deeper shade of green.  
The girl's blonde bangs swayed slightly as her harsh panting slowed to a close, and she began to speak.

"... S-... Sorry. I thought-"

"It's fine," Leo cut her off; they didn't have time for formalities right now.

"This way!" He shot off in the direction of the breeze; startled slightly by the boy's trusting nature, the girl hesitated before running after him.

* * *

"... Reagan," the girl had suddenly spoken while they climbed out the broken roof of the office.

"What?"

"That's my name. It's Nelliel Reagan. I thought you should know. I _did_ almost electrocute you," she seemed to feel some guilt about that.  
Leo laughed for a moment, surprising Reagan, and then he turned to her and said.

"Let's just get out of this first; we can talk about whether you would've been able to hit me or not later," Leo flashed her an obnoxious grin before climbing out, followed by Reagan, smiling lightly.

Leo and Reagan leapt out onto the roof, eyes darting around, looking for a way out.

"There!" Reagan jabbed a finger to indicate what she was talking about; a small tower of shipping containers were close enough to the rooftop to jump to.  
Barely. The gap looked to be around 2 metres wide.

"Can you make it, Nel?" Leo worried about her, temporarily forgetting the scene which he saw only moments ago. Reagan gave a short laugh in response, both to the shortening of her name and to his misplaced concern, and dashed towards the edge of the roof; as she closed in on it, her shoes gave off that familiar electric glow, and started to produce a high-pitched whir; just as she was about to reach it, the whir increased rapidly in pitch...

Suddenly an ear-splitting discharge of electricity arced off the ground as Reagan launched off and soared through the air for almost 3 metres before landing heavily on the container, hands slamming down to distribute the impact; sparks flew as her gloves pressed into the metal.

_Whoa..._ Leo thought as he looked on with an impressed expression; Reagan stayed in that position; one knee down with the other foot in front, both hands planted firmly forward, head down. And then quite unexpectedly, she looked over a shoulder, and gave Leo the most tomboyish smirk he'd ever seen.

"Electromagnetic OverAssist," Reagan called over to Leo, with a face of accomplishment.

Was that what she was using? Leo was more interested in the smug look she had just thrown her.  
_Oh, alright then; challenge accepted._ Leo returned with a grin of his own and ran after her.

* * *

Dead end.  
The two words that neither of the fleeing teenagers wanted to hear.  
What they wanted, however, was irrelevant; those two words repeated endlessly in their minds as they stared at the steep drop in front of them.

They had been running for quite some time now, jumping from metal to metal; they didn't have to make any decisions on where to go, the containers were laid out in such a way that they only had one path.

But the path had now ended, if they continued forward, all that awaited them was a 10 metre fall onto the cold, hard ground. The closest thing they could fall jump onto was a warehouse with a brittle-looking roof, and that was between them and the previous container.

Reagan stared, unmoving, into the abyss; she was what one might call a genius, with an IQ of 184, but even she couldn't think of a way out of this predicament.  
_That roof's a death-trap...  
Can't go back; at this point in time we'll just run back into them..._

Reagan's eyes snapped towards Leo, hoping for any kind of helpful idea; wearing an expression of deep thought on his face, he turned towards her and suddenly spoke in the most serious voice she had ever heard.

"Why are there even shipping containers here? Shibuya's pretty far from the ocean."

There was a moment's silence while Reagan's brain processed what her companion had just said. And then.

"Wh- _That's_ what you were thinking about so hard?! I thought you actually had some kind of plan!"  
Slightly embarrassed by her sudden outburst, Reagan turned away and took a deep breath to regain her composure.

"In any case," she continued, "since this was the only path, they'll be here any moment. What's our strategy?"  
This time it was Leo's turn to be silent, the look on his face showed that he thought the answer was the simplest thing in the world.

"We've hit a dead end, and are about to be set upon by five street-brawlers who are hopped up on steroids," he turned around and did some stretches before slamming his fist into his palm and continuing.

"Strategy won't help us; I'll just need to take them down."

Before Reagan could object to both the 'plan' and the usage of the 'I' pronoun, a loud cry was heard.

"There they are! Get 'em!"

The leader made a big show of commanding two of his underlings to jump across to the two trapped teenagers, he himself however stayed behind; perhaps out of caution, remembering the outcome of yesterday's little showdown.

"Los geht's!" Leo yelled out with a battle-ready expression, one of the White Skullers was now about a metre or two away from him, but before Leo could engage him, he heard that familiar high-pitched sound...

Reagan's knee shot forward through the air, right past Leo and into the chest of the closest White Skuller; the force of the impact had visibly winded him, and he was thrown backwards into his teammate who was unfortunate enough to be right behind him; both members collapsed into a heap, unconscious.

Reagan stood up from her landing and tightened her gloves.

"Don't get the wrong idea," Reagan said to a stunned Leo without taking her eyes off the remaining White Skullers, "it's not that I can't fight, I'd just prefer to minimize the chances of damaging my equipment."

She crouched low onto the ground, looking like she was getting ready to sprint...

_BOOM!_

A sound remarkably similar to a sonic boom was unleashed as she flew across to the previous container and smashed her right fist firmly into her next target's face; down he went. Amusingly, Reagan looked slightly surprised and even a bit apologetic; she had not meant to place that much force into her attack.

Taking advantage of her hesitation, the last minion attempted to break her leg with a kick. She had not, however, let her guard down; Reagan countered by skilfully stomping down the man's shin before it connected with hers.  
Undeterred, but wincing in pain, he then followed up with a right hook; to no avail, Reagan's left hand batted it away while her right palm drove into his chest, shocking him unconscious: It seemed that anything that touched her gloves would be instantly electrocuted.

She turned towards Shiyon, the last man standing, and said with a very small shake in her voice.

"Come on!"

_... She just took down four guys. Four. Guys._  
Leo was impressed; granted, she had the element of surprise and that 'OverAssist' gear, but other than looking marginally fatigued and slightly less confident than her words suggested, she seemed even more like a soldier.

But Shiyon didn't seem to care; not about his fallen gang members, and not about the fact that he was facing an opponent who essentially had Tasers for hands. In fact he seemed confident, as if he had noticed something that she had not.

Seeing that he had no intention of making a move, she made one first; charging straight at him, she intended to end it in one strike.

Shiyon was the first person to notice. And now Leo was the second.  
Reagan's gloves were always sparking with energy, even when she was just running, her hands continued to give off that signature green glow.  
But they had stopped; they now looked no different than any other pair of gloves.  
Shiyon had absolute faith in his theory: 'The gloves had stopped working'.  
It was not misplaced.

Reagan's punch was easily caught by Shiyon's right hand; her face had a look of absolute astonishment that lasted roughly one second, before being replaced with one of despair-filled understanding: She was afraid of this happening, it was precisely why she had avoided a direct confrontation, choosing 'flight' over 'fight'.

Reagan struggled to free herself, but she had relied too heavily on her equipment; with its effects gone, the White Skuller's grip felt like a titanium vice.  
Shiyon spun her around and pulled her into a chokehold with his right arm, and placed his left arm casually into his pocket, as if this was just normal day for him.

"Well... Heh-Heh. Looks like I got you two after all," Shiyon looked over to Leo, who was still on the other container, before continuing, "a stupid kid, and a thief girl."

That was something that Leo had not expected to hear. Reagan, a thief? He looked at her to gauge her reaction; she appeared to want to say something, but Shiyon kept a firm enough grip that she couldn't.

"Don't believe me? Come over here and ask her yourself! Now!" Shiyon's right hand twitched and a blade popped out, pointing at Reagan's neck to reinforce his demand; apparently he had been holding a switchblade knife the entire time.

Leo didn't think he was bluffing, he had heard of a White Skullers stabbing incident once; the victim almost died, due to even ambulances being prohibited from entering the Ruins; he had to be carted out into a Shibuya hospital.

Leo stood still for a moment, and then ran towards Shiyon's container; leaping across, Leo's mind was in overdrive, thinking many times faster than usual while he sailed through the air.  
_He won't hurt her. Not yet. It's mainly __**me**__ he wants. Once he deals with me, he'll be in charge again; until he's dealt with me, he definitely won't hurt her-_

The first thing that Leo noticed was the sound. A loud, ringing noise that ripped into his ears.  
The next thing he noticed was the smell of gunpowder, and blood.  
He then became aware that Shiyon's left hand wasn't in his pocket anymore; it was pointing something at him. Something crudely-shaped. Metallic, and smoking.  
Finally, he noticed what most people would have expected to perceive first.

Pain.

* * *

A stinging, burning pain made its way through Leo's left shoulder as he continued through his path through the air, knocked slightly off course by the bullet that had rendered his left arm useless.

Losing momentum, Leo desperately threw his right hand out, and grabbed the side of the container; hanging there in shock, he slowly turned his gaze upwards towards the man who had just shot him, Reiou Shiyon.

Shiyon returned his stare, and very quickly began to laugh.  
The sort of laugh you don't expect to ever hear in person, the sort of laugh that chills your bones and fills you with dread; the laugh of someone who had gone mad.

"I've done it...! It's been almost four months, but I've finally got you!"  
Leo wasn't listening, however; his thoughts were raging inside his head, trying to figure something out.

_A gun... He's got a gun...! How? There's no way you could sneak in with one... Does that mean... He found it in the Ruins...?  
... There are __**working weapons in the Ruins**_.

That was not good. If anyone, particularly people like the White Skullers, got their hands on anything as powerful as a gun, they would have the power to do whatever they pleased; after all, even in emergencies; policeman, doctors, and firemen were prohibited from entering the Ruins.  
But before Leo could follow that line of thought any further...

"Now, this... This is for all th' weapons you trashed, girl!"  
Leo felt momentarily relieved; Reagan had 'trashed' any weapons that the White Skullers might have had.  
But then he felt a cold stab of fear as he realised what the sentence meant...

Reagan's eyes widened, and she made a sort of choking noise; her arms struggled against Shiyon's left arm, which was now holding her neck, before losing strength and falling to her sides.  
Shiyon dropped her body carelessly to the side; her blood stained the back of her clothes, and slowly slipped off of his knife.

What followed was about three seconds worth of silence; Leo could not believe what he'd just seen.  
_She's dead._  
Those were the only two words that he could form in his mind; before he got any further, Shiyon stomped down on Leo's fingers and laughed again.

"You don't _really_ think I give a damn about killing anyone, do you?"  
By this time, the other members of the White Skullers had recovered, and were standing up, albeit a bit unstably.

"Besides... All the way out here...?" Shiyon aimed his gun right down at Leo's head and continued, "no-one's gonna find you two."  
Shiyon started to squeeze the trigger, but apparently having thought of something more amusing, he stopped.

With a final laugh, he said rather calmly.

"Later, kid."

And then, with no hesitation this time...  
Shiyon kicked Leo's hand off the container; without its support, he fell down...

Down...

Down...

* * *

It wasn't over; Shiyon would not allow Leo's dead body to lie peacefully in the depths.  
Leo was well known in the Ruins, he enjoyed challenging people, and being challenged in return, but the reason he was so well known, was because of his good heart; he would teach people better ways to free-run, find lost things for people, protect people who were being assaulted...

If his mangled body was thrown into the middle of the street, everyone would be severely demoralised; in addition, it would reinforce the White Skullers as being the 'Strongest Gang'.

The thought of it all made Shiyon's grin spread even wider, threatening to tear the skin on his face apart.

It was easy to see where he had fallen; the warehouse roof that Reagan had earlier labelled a 'death-trap' now had a large tear in its old, rusty corrugated iron where Leo's body had broken through.

It took about half an hour for the White Skullers to make their way down to the warehouse, a few White Skullers almost fell over upon entering; patches of the ground were covered by a thin layer of petrol.  
Stopping for a moment, they surveyed the area; it appeared to be some sort of garage: A few rusty cars sat in the building, unused tyres were strewn everywhere, and many half-full cylinders of gas were stacked around the area, lining the walls of the building.

"A'ight!" Shiyon shouted at his four followers, "go find his body, now!"  
Shiyon stood not-so-patiently and watched them disperse and search the area, however, aside from everything else, there were piles of junk everywhere; it would take some time before they found him.

And then... One White Skuller had the bad fortune to be the target of a thrown, live electric cable; for the second time today, the man was shocked unconscious, giving a small scream as he fell to the ground; out cold.

Barely hearing his scream, a nearby White Skuller walked over to investigate, and was promptly caught off-guard; knocked senseless by a quick strike to the throat.  
A second or two passed by, and his assailant slowly stepped out of the shadows.

_Damn... Feels like I've broken some bones..._  
Blood dripped off Leo's face; the right side of his temple bore a large gash, and his left arm was broken in two places; not that it mattered, he couldn't have moved it anyway.  
To make matters worse, his right leg felt like it had been run over by a bulldozer, and he was having trouble breathing; the effort he took to inhale was about equal to the effort one would take to suck wet cement through a straw.

Hearing more footsteps approaching him, Leo made his way to the rafters; moving was agonizingly slow and painful, but if he stayed where he was, Shiyon would undoubtedly finish what he had started.  
Leo concealed himself just in time; another of Shiyon's men walked around the corner.

Leo dropped off the beam he was resting on, planning to fall on top of him while he was distracted by the unconscious bodies of his team members; unfortunately, blood had trickled into over his right eye, throwing off his depth perception.  
Leo fell directly onto his target's left shoulder, and both fell heavily to the ground.

Leo immediately stood up and prepared to finish the job, only to receive a solid punch to the gut; 'immediately' wasn't as immediate as it used to be.

"... Gah...!"  
Leo coughed up some blood before taking a hard left hook to the cut on his head.  
Screaming in agony, he used the momentum from the hit to spin and drive his heel into the back of the Skuller's neck; the shock threw him forward face-first into an iron support, without a sound, he passed out and fell to the ground.

Leo's body begged for rest, but there was no time; he turned to make his way back up into the rafters-

"HERE! HE'S OVER HERE!"  
Cursing himself for being so slow, Leo immediately fled from the source of the voice, tripped over a tyre and fell into a wide, open area where Shiyon was standing.

Leo looked up from the ground to see Shiyon looking shocked; in disbelief that Leo was still alive. A moment went by, and then he started laughing, confusing even the last Skuller.  
Shiyon raised his hand slightly, gun in hand; Leo desperately attempted to move, but before he could...

_BANG!_

* * *

_Drip..._

_Drip..._

_Drip..._

Blood continued to drip off of Leo's face, as it had been for the last 30 minutes.  
But now a different noise filled the air...

A roaring fire engulfed the inside of the warehouse; the bullet that Shiyon fired had collided with a nearby metal support; sparks flew off and set off the petrol patches on the floor.

A burst of adrenaline hit Leo, forcing him up onto his feet.  
His first thought was to run, unfortunately for him he was now in the centre what was essentially a maze of flame; though in no immediate danger right now, the heat from the surrounding flames would eventually cook him to a crisp.

Leo looked over to Shiyon in disbelief, who simply stood there, adjusting his tie; seemingly not caring about the veritable inferno that he had just trapped Leo, his men, and even himself with.  
But then, noticing Leo's puzzled expression, he grinned menacingly and sharply jabbed the thumb of his free hand towards his chest and said one word.

"Fireproof."

"..." Leo wasn't sure what to say, however his injuries, the heat of the raging fire and the blood rushing to his head him made him say, "how about your head?!"  
As if to answer him, Shiyon reached inside his suit, and drew out a black balaclava; pulling it over his head, Leo could see that it had a skull motif.  
_How creative... Guess that's 'fireproof' too.  
_Shiyon grinned again, though almost imperceptible beneath his mask.

"As long as those gas cylinders aren't ruptured, this place'll be safe for a while longer."

"Hah... You know what 'ruptured' means, huh? Big word like that could've gotten you into high-school."

"Cute."  
Shiyon's face twitched in irritation, before...

"Korra!" Shiyon suddenly barked out at the only other conscious Skuller, who had followed the leader, and donned his mask, "grab the others, and haul ass outta 'ere," turning back to Leo, he cracked his knuckles, "I got the kid."

Without warning, Shiyon suddenly closed in on Leo and used his arm to lariat him to the ground.

"_Urgh!_" Shiyon's forearm had hit Leo's chest dead-on, throwing him backwards and costing him a large amount of blood; he definitely had serious bleeding inside.  
Before he could recover, Shiyon grabbed his collar and hoisted him up with one hand, and punched him in the side of the head with his other.

Leo stumbled backward, having been released temporarily; Shiyon closed in again, aiming to hit the wound on Leo's temple.  
Leo raised his arm to guard, but didn't have nearly enough strength to stop Shiyon's blow; it struck him at full-force.  
Crumpling to the ground again, Leo began to gasp for air; smoke was filling the warehouse, he wouldn't last much longer.

"And now..." Shiyon began, walking slowly towards Leo's downed body, "I'm gonna kill you, kid. Properly, this time. Just like I killed your girlfriend."

Suddenly reminded of Reagan's death, Leo was filled with rage.  
Shiyon roughly took hold of Leo's shirt again and lifted him off the ground; his right hand went to his pocket and pulled out his knife, still red with Reagan's blood... And thrust it directly towards Leo's heart.

If there was any chance of Leo dying here by Shiyon's hand, it was destroyed the moment he saw that knife.  
Filled with an unbelievable fury that he had never felt before, Leo grabbed Shiyon's hand right before the knife penetrated his skin.  
Stunned, Shiyon paused a moment before pushing against Leo's grip; both gritted their teeth as they struggled against one another, the knife drew closer and closer to his heart, and just when it drew the smallest drop of blood from his chest...

"HAHH...!" Leo's right leg suddenly shot out and smashed into Shiyon's chin with considerable force; Shiyon reeled backwards as Leo disarmed him and threw the knife into the flames behind him; a quick death was too good for him.

Leo ran forward and struck Shiyon square in the chest with his left foot, stepping off of him, he then kicked him in the stomach with all of his strength.  
Shiyon doubled over, winded as Leo fell to the ground, he wheeled in mid-air and struck Shiyon's shoulder-blade with his heel.

As he landed, Shiyon half-recovered and made a grab for Leo's neck; twisting, Leo used Shiyon's momentum to fling him into a pile of gas cylinders which painfully collapsed on top of them.

After waiting exactly one second, Leo started towards the buried Shiyon; there was no way he was letting him go with just that.  
Suddenly, Shiyon burst out of the cylinders, screaming in frustration.

Glaring at each other for a moment, Shiyon charged at Leo, who whirled clockwise and shot his right foot into Shiyon's neck, though it wasn't a clean hit, Shiyon's eyes widened in pain, and he found himself unable to breath; taking advantage of this, Leo swung back and yelled as he struck Shiyon's solar plexus with the tips of his five fingers, mirroring the events of the day before.

Shiyon's mouth opened wide in a silent scream; he had no air in his lungs to make sound, furiously, his hand dove back into his suit and pulled out his gun, he pointed it straight at Leo's head and...  
_BANG!_  
Leo, anticipating the bullet, dove to the right as the bullet skimmed by his left eye.

They say your life flashes before your eyes in your final moments.  
Leo's didn't; everything just seemed to move in slow motion.  
The bullet, carelessly fired by an enraged Shiyon, hit a gas cylinder; dead-centre.  
Shiyon's face slowly changed as he realised what he had done, and he started to scream in terror.  
Leo's face didn't change at all. He only watched the bullet as it dug into the metal of the gas container...

A white flash.

And darkness descended.

* * *

"... -losion in the 'Ruins of Shibuya' has called for the local authorities to make their first ever expedition into the Ruins to halt the resultant fire before it spreads. Experts project that if unchecked, the blaze could potentially travel over into Shibuya itself. Next up on-..."

* * *

Announcement.  
Talking.  
Traffic lights.  
Walking.

_...!_  
Leo slowly opened his eyes as he heard a cluster of familiar sounds.  
Half-awake, he found himself lying in the middle of Scramble Crossing.

Leo slowly pushed himself off of the ground, subconsciously noting the lack of pain in his body.  
_...?_

Bit by bit, his thoughts started to arrange themselves, but before they could totally assemble.

"_Do you want to live?_"

Startled, he whirled around to find a man in a black hood standing behind him.  
The Grim Reaper, perhaps; Leo briefly entertained the thought before staring at the stranger in front of him?

Neither of them moved. And then the enigmatic hooded figure repeated his question.

"... _Do you want to live?_"

"... Who are you...?"

"... _Do you want to live?_"

"... Is that all you can say...?"

Leo shook his head, half-frustrated, half-confused.  
Looking around once more, he took all that had happened in stride.

"So... I guess I'm... Dead, huh?"  
Solemnly looking down at the ground, Leo was interrupted by a car that rudely drove right through him.

"... Ha... Haha..." Almost as if someone had told a funny joke, Leo chuckled to himself.  
Then he met the hood's gaze again, as he could not see the face underneath.

"'Do I want to live...?'... Are you offering me my life back?"

"... _Do you want to live?_"

"... I don't-"

"_I care not for your human reasoning,_" the hooded being spoke his first new sentence, "_I care not about your doubts, or your fears, or your questions._"

The figure disappeared, leaving Leo alone and surprised for an instant, but then he rematerialized right in front of Leo's face, staggering him.

"_Do. You. Want. To. Live?_"

Even at point-blank range, Leo's eyes could not penetrate the darkness beneath the hood. Even so...  
His thoughts raced back to the Ruins, all the people he had left behind; several gangs would compete for supremacy, and perhaps eventually, a new "White Skullers" would be born. He couldn't let it happen.

"... Yes. I do."

"_Why?_"

_This guy says he doesn't care for __**my**__ questions..._ Leo thought for a second before answering.

"There are important things I still have to do."

Suddenly, as if triggered by his response, black tendrils extended from beneath the hood and snaked over to Leo's right hand, which was forcefully pulled away from him by some unseen force.

_Welcome to the Reapers' Game._

"!?" Unexpectedly, Leo began hearing a voice in his head, sometimes overlapping with itself, but saying different things each time.  
Wind started to swirl around the pair...

_It is a Game... Where you will bet your very Existe-_

_Days. You will be given a number of Days until you are Erased._

_Pact_

_-emaining Time is marked on your Existence Tim-_

_The Partner System is based upon co-ope-_

_Trust._

_-in, and you earn your life ba-_

_Sync._

_Believe in yourself._

_Believe in your Partner..._

The tendrils circled around Leo's palm and suddenly he felt a stabbing sensation, he attempted to yank his arm away, and to his surprise, was able to; the tendrils retracted, and the raging storm subsided.

"_... It's been a while since I've seen someone Marked... I trust you'll entertain us, boy._"

Without bothering to explain himself, the mysterious hooded entity vanished as quickly as he came.

* * *

Silent.

Three seconds had passed since the hooded one left.  
Same streets.  
Same noises.

News announcement on Q Floor.  
People talking.  
Traffic lights blinking.  
Crowds walking.

But a new noise found its way to Leo's ears.

_Tick..._

_Tick..._

_Tick..._

A single bead of sweat rolled down his forehead as he suddenly felt an inexplicable sensation of fear grip his heart.

_Tick..._

_Tick..._

_Tick..._

Leo slowly raised his right hand, and raised his palm upwards.  
Blood-Red numbers floated above it, as if carved into the air.

_12:23:59:48..._

_12:23:59:47..._

_12:23:59:46..._

Katy's attention suddenly snapped towards Scramble Crossing, where she felt the presence of a strong Soul among the new Players.  
Soon afterwards, a voice echoed throughout all of Shibuya, noticed by every single resident of the UnderGround:

_Leo Parker.  
You have XIII Days._

* * *

**Okay, so I find that usually the first chapter's longer than the others, but wow; that was long :P**

**Sorry about that, but I really wanted Leo to die (that sounds harsh XD) before ****Chapter III**** started, plus I wanted to fit in all that backstory, and meeting/unmeeting Reagan... Phew.**

**Anyway, I hope that was at least somewhat enjoyable; if you could perhaps leave a review, I'd be full of the grates.  
(Grateful)  
Shh, no-one must know...**

**Oh, and I know readers should be imagining what they read, but I'd recommend visualising the 'high-pitched whir' as the same noise that Iron Man's repulsor make before they fires *Thumbs-up*  
And the pose that Reagan lands in after the 'Electromagnetic OverAssist'?  
Think of Solid Snake in the Tanker Chapter from Metal Gear Solid 2 XD**

**#SonsOfLiberty**

**Have a nice day, and just so you know; I don't plan on future chapters being so looong~  
They will be shorter; normal-sized.  
Whatever 'normal' is...**

**Bye : )**

**...**

**You have no idea how close I was to typing, 'It seemed that anything that touched her gloves would meet a shocking fate.'**

**XD**


	3. Chapter III - The Reapers' Game Remixed

**I am returned~**

**That is actually an actual phrase, actually XD**

**Sorry that it's been a while since my last update, but I DID say 'Updates may be sparse'~  
Such busy, much work.**

**ALSO. Sick.  
I was- AM seeeeck.  
This WOULD'VE gone up 4 days ago but Idus flangr engh...**

**Anyway, third chapter :]  
I hope you enjoy it; I think the writing gets a bit clunky near the end... But let's see :P**

**...**

**AND.  
I forgot that thanks are in order~  
Thank you to Xenux and Arkenusora for le kind words and being my first followers :D**

**Now then... Allons-y~**

**I don't speak French :P**

**UPDATE: Updated Katy's description, and I made a mistake during Mushin's recording. 'Pact with a Partner' is NOT a Mission :P**

* * *

**Chapter III – The Reapers' Game Remixed**

Noise.

The air around the Scramble Crossing seemed to ripple and burst apart; crimson liquid, somewhat resembling darkened blood, came flooding out, swarming the airspace and inciting panic and confusion.

The liquid twisted and roiled, separating and flowing into separate shapes; soon the Scramble Crossing was surrounded on all sides by floating, bloody symbols.  
_... Skulls...?_  
Leo found himself staring at the symbol closest to him, and realised it resembled a heavily stylised image of some small animal's skull, as if it were some sort of tattoo.

His train of thought was suddenly derailed as the symbol drew closer and touched his arm.

"_AAAAGGGHH!_"

It burned like acid.

* * *

Leo threw himself back as hard as he could; disoriented from the seething pain in his arm, he crashed down onto the ground.

Immediately, the panic in the crowd exploded into full-on terror; it appeared that others had experienced the scorching touch of the floating symbols; Leo leapt off of the ground, and his eyes flew around wildly as he attempted to comprehend the situation.  
But before he could do anything else...

_KZZZT...!_

A kid standing to his right had been rammed by a symbol; she gave a cry as she fell backwards... And started to slow down mid-fall.  
Her body gave off a strange glow, and she stopped falling completely, suspended, as if someone had hit 'pause' in the middle of a movie.

Leo watched on; her body unexpectedly started to dissolve into static; the kind you expect to see when your television has a bad signal.  
The last wisps of black, white, and grey drifted off, and Leo's mind kicked into overdrive, and he lunged towards a symbol behind him who was in the middle of charging towards a young woman; she was sprawled on the ground, wearing black tights, with a matching black skirt and top; she struck Leo as a Lapin Angelique fan, but that wasn't important right now.  
Leo sprung forwards onto his hands and pushed off of the ground, attempting to drive a kick into the symbol; he was promptly repelled by a burning sensation on his legs.

Abandoning his ill-thought out plan, Leo grabbed the woman's wrist and pulled her up off the ground.

"Go!"  
He shouted at her amidst the chaos, pointing towards the Shibu Department Store; without waiting for a reply, he darted off towards the next nearest person in danger; at that point, a new wave of the liquid burst forth and rushed towards the screaming citizens of Shibuya; Leo briefly noticed some orange mixed in with the red before it flooded over the ground and engulfed him, and everyone else.

The liquid subsided quickly, rising back into the sky, however its effect lingered on Leo; interestingly he was completely dry, and there was no trace of the liquid upon him, or his clothes.

But the pain stayed right where it was; Leo was suddenly overcome by a level of pain so great that he considered dropping to the ground, and resigning himself to fate.  
Leo fell to one knee, and his body seemed to flicker and shift around ever so slightly, as if he was a dying hologram; his vision became blurry and shrouded by static.

_... No...!  
NO!_  
Leo forced himself up and steadied himself; he wasn't giving up here.  
Slowly, his form began to pull itself back together, and he gradually became able to see clearly.  
Unfortunately, not everyone was so lucky; as he stood up, he saw a few traces of static; signs of another death, or rather, Erasure.

"_MICHAEL!_"  
Leo heard a shriek from his right, and whipped his head around to see what had happened.  
_Nngh... It's her again... Why's she still here?_  
Following her gaze, Leo's eyes landed upon a man in a plain black coat who was surrounded on one side by an unusually high number of symbols.

"CAMILA, JUST RUN!"  
The woman named 'Camila' shook her head and forcefully and yelled something back, but Leo didn't hear; he was focused on the mass of liquid in the sky, which was coming back down again.  
While he still had no intention of giving up, he didn't think that he, or anyone else, could take another hit from the scorching molten flood.

Just as Leo was about to move, a flash of light burst across the sky from the 104 Building; the wave vanished into oblivion.  
In shock, Leo quickly turned towards 104 and caught a glimpse of a figure standing on the corner of nearby rooftop.

The sun shone brightly, casting the shadow of a skyscraper over the person's face, but Leo could see that they had their arm raised forward; light surged around their hand, and they seemed to be catching their breath; they crouched down, and...

In a flash, the figure had disappeared.

_!?_  
Leo's eyes could barely keep up; all he saw was a blur, it rapidly descended from the roof, and hit the ground with a crash, landing in-between the man called 'Michael' and the mass of symbols.

For a split second Leo could clearly see her; a girl who appeared to be in her late teens like Leo himself, who was 17, though you wouldn't know that without looking at her face:

She wore very unusual attire for a 21st century teenager; an old-fashioned white cardigan, handmade, by the looks of it; it had elaborate raised patterns knitted around it, and the sleeves were almost rolled up to her elbows. She was also wearing a very soft-lavender skirt, the fabric of which appeared to be silk; it came down to her ankles but was partially opened at the side, likely to accommodate mobility; Leo also noticed that the skirt's fabric ran over itself at the opening, so that it was more of a spiral than a circle; this prevented her legs from being extensively revealed, and gave him the impression that she was one for modesty; another rare trait for a teenage girl.

She also wore a hairclip that looked to be made of Silver, or perhaps even Platinum; it held the side of her short amber hair to the right as her fringe swept out to the left; the hairclip had intricate carvings in it, looking to be of extremely high-quality and value; a thin bangle of similar style and make hung around her right wrist, and two more hung on her left.

Her face looked slightly weary, and her clothes had a few tears here and there; she looked like she had just escaped some sort of assault.  
Despite this, and the turmoil that raged around her, she seemed oddly calm to Leo; she gave off an air of refinement, and dignity.

Everyone's eyes were on her; they found something mysterious about her, something gave them the strange impression that she was almost like a lady of royalty.  
Maybe it was her clothing.  
Maybe it was her jewellery.

Or maybe it was her blazing violet eyes...

* * *

No sooner had Katy touched the ground than she had left it again; her body danced gracefully from symbol to symbol as her left hand arced with bright energy, cutting through each threat; in less than 10 seconds, she had destroyed almost 20 of the dangerous symbols.

At this point her delicate frame was trembling, and her breath came out in harsh gasps; touching down once more, and resting for a brief moment, she held out her hand for Michael.

"Michael, get up! Get to her!" Katy hurriedly urged him; immediately she noticed the strange lack of emotion on his face; there was dull surprise, but that was about it; it took him a moment before he accepted her hand, after which she helped him up and directed him over to Camila.

"Michael! Michael!" Camila repeated his name as tears poured from her eyes, hugging him tightly, their reunion was short-lived, however; Katy hesitated for a fraction of a second before interrupting.

"You have to Pact! Now!"  
To her dismay, Camila gave her a slightly confused look.

"Pact...?!" She urgently said once more, "Pacting? Partners? To stop these monsters, the Noise? Anything?!" Then...

"'Pact'... 'Pact'..." Camila murmured to herself, "... 'Pact'!" She turned to Michael, "that hooded man said something about 'Pacting', and taking a 'Partner'!"  
Michael gave a short nod, but before he could ask Katy how exactly to 'Pact', she abruptly shot away from them and crashed through another 'Noise', saving someone else, a small victory, as a third, larger wave formed and crept toward the remaining people...

"Co-operation!" Leo, having remembered something, yelled out, "'the Partner System is based on co-operation'!" They turned towards him before he anti-climatically concluded, "so… Co-operate!" He finished, frustrated.

Almost as soon as he finished his sentence, he felt a light push from behind him as a rush of air blew past; everyone stopped to look, and even the Noise froze in mid-air, as if to watch; two teenage boys standing further out from the rest of the group were clasping hands, streams of light were swirling around them, pushing the Noise away.

It lasted for a second or so, and abruptly ended; they looked as surprised as everyone else.

"Great!" Katy called out to them, with her face slightly more hopeful, "that's it, you Pacted!" Her look of satisfaction quickly disappeared; the ground shook as the wave sped up, and rushed towards the last of the crowd, most now huddled together in the centre of the crossing.

The majority of them turned in desperation, looking towards Katy for help; they were still not totally willing to 'Pact' with others; they didn't trust each other, but they trusted her to a degree.  
To their collective disappointment, she merely stood where was, calmly watching the looming threat of Erasure; her mouth was set in a thin, hard line.  
The wave reached the two boys who had 'Pacted' first; they flinched, anticipating their impending demise, but right before the wave struck them, it parted, flowing smoothly around them like a river around a stone.

Katy's mouth suddenly bent into a grin; she had been waiting for that, to prove a point: 'Pact, and you'll be protected'. Leaping into the air, she flung her palm out at the wave.

"Demonstration's over!"

A deafening boom rang out as the flood was forced back, and degenerated.  
Having seen the two teenagers survive a direct assault from the wave, everyone instantly became more inclined to the idea of 'Pacting'.

Most people grabbed another's hand, unsure of what to do after that, but it was that act alone that did the trick; 'Pacting' was the act of two people consciously deciding to co-operate with each other for the foreseeable future.

The Scramble Crossing became filled with light the final survivors found someone to Pact with, a few frantically running around, searching for a person who had not yet taken a Partner.  
Slightly stunned from the rush of events that had just occurred, Leo was frozen, awestruck; the light subsided, and there was a moment of calm before all of the remaining Noise turned towards Leo, apparently unwilling to attack anyone who had Pacted.  
Realising the danger he was in, he sprinted off and started looking for someone free, but it wasn't easy; the entire area was full of people. Leo cut through the mass of people, pushing them to the side and calling out.

"HEY! YELL BACK IF YOU HAVEN'T PACTED YET!"

One of the Noise in pursuit caught up and succeeded in touching his heel; Leo cried out and stumbled before falling down onto the pavement.

"Argh...!"  
Leo twisted around to see a swarm of Noise quickly approaching him; luckily for him, before they could end his Existence, Katy dropped down in front of him, shielding him from the Noise,

She staggered a moment before shouting to him.

"RUN!"  
Confident that she could handle it, he managed to gasp out.

"Thanks...!"  
Leo took off once again, seeking a Partner.

* * *

By this point, everyone was moving well out of the way, not intending to get in his way; due to this, Leo had a clear view of a certain person that was a long ways ahead of him.  
_!... That's...!_

"HEYYY! REAGAN!"

Reagan, who was kneeling and seemingly talking to someone lying on the ground, quickly turned around, alarmed by someone calling out her name; her mouth dropped open upon seeing Leo's familiar face.

Leo closed in on her and stretched out his hand, Reagan ran up to him, doing the same; their hands closed around each other and...

Nothing.

Leo's mind went blank; why weren't there any lights? Was their some requirement he hadn't met? Was he a special case? Or... Did she not want to be his Partner?  
Did a Pact have to be mutually agreed on by both parties?

His attention was shook back into reality when he realised that Reagan was pulling on his hand.

"What are you standing still for?! Follow me!"  
The pair started to run back the way she had come, and a new idea surfaced.

"Nel... Do you..."

"I'm... Sorry; I already have a Partner. It looks like I can't Pact twice..."

"... It's fine; you're trying to help me, right? You wouldn't drag me along without a plan, would you?"

Reagan turned around, not stopping, and looked at Leo's face in surprise; he was giving her the same obnoxious grin he had much earlier; he had once again taken something serious and somehow made it less upsetting.  
Reagan found that she was unable to keep herself from smiling back.

"Yeah! Of course I have a plan! Just keep running!"

They arrived back where he had originally seen her: Next to the person on the ground: A boy, looking a bit younger than Leo was, but by no means young.  
Leo's eyes quickly ran him over; he immediately thought that he was some kind of athlete as he was wearing a tank top and shorts; both had white lines running around the fabric, giving it a stylish feel. He also had a pair of black shoes; they had orange highlights and appeared to be for basketball.

Leo looked at his face, and saw that he was unconscious; his spiky hair was short enough that Leo could easily see his closed eyes.  
The one thing that was odd to Leo was the boy's body; it was rather poorly built for someone who was dressed like an athlete, maybe he was a simple fan? Then again, the amount of muscle that he had looked to be well below average, as if he hadn't used his body for quite some time.

"Hey! What are you waiting for? Pact with him!"  
Leo found his mind wandering again, and quickly grabbed the boy's hand.

"... Nothing's happening...!"

"What!? But- Dammit!" Reagan took her first look at the boy since returning to his side and saw that he was out cold, "rrgh, I told him to stay awake!"

Leo had no idea how to respond; it looked like she was talking about something he didn't know about. Reagan looked back at Leo, then back at the boy again.

"... Daniel," Reagan raised her hand and pointed her index finger at 'Daniel's' face, "Daniel, wake up," then, quite unexpectedly, she poked him in the cheek a few times; Leo's brain took a moment to process this before stifling a laugh.  
_Well... I suppose there's no hurry now..._

_SCREEEECH!_

Leo and Reagan's relaxed expressions vanished as they heard the unified cry of a horde of Noise.  
Turning away from the still unconscious Daniel, they saw a pack of around 50 Noise rapidly flying towards Leo and Daniel.

"Okay, time's up! Wake him up, wake him up!" Leo rapidly ordered Reagan; she then raised her hand, hesitating for a second, before giving Daniel a hard smack on the side of the face.

"Wh- Hey!" Leo began to protest.

"I don't like it either, but you have to be conscious to Pact with someone!"

"Wha-? How do you know-"

Another cry from the Noise rang out, louder and closer than before.

"Now's not the time...!" Reagan gave Daniel another strong whack, but to no avail, he remained unconscious.

At that moment, Katy came flying down the road, chasing after the Noise; her clothing was even more damaged at this point, and she had scratches on her skin where the Noise had injured her.

Seeing that she wasn't going to catch up in time, she slammed her foot down into the asphalt and held up her left hand, which Leo could now see held a black designer pin.  
_We're not gonna make it..._  
Just as that thought crossed his mind, violet light started to whirl around Katy; she roared and thrust the Pin forward, exactly 50 chains burst out of it.  
Each chain had a spearhead on the end, and every Noise was impaled and held back from moving any further.  
One Noise in particular stopped mere centimetres from Leo's face.

"_I can't hold them for long! Hurry up and Pact!_"

_What do I do...?_ Leo thought to himself, at a loss.  
_... I don't know what to do...!_

"... We're out of options," Reagan suddenly announced; Leo looked at her in disbelief, was she just giving up?  
No, far from it; she reached into her pocket and pulled out... Another Pin.  
Unlike Katy's, however, instead of being black, it had a stylised image of lightning bolts printed onto it.

She held it to Daniel's chest and...  
_ZAP!_  
Daniel's eyes shot open, and he recoiled in pain from the shock that Reagan had given him; Leo stared at Reagan once more.

"How the _hell_ did you-"  
_SNAP!_  
One of the larger Noise broke free of a chain and charged at Leo; this Noise Symbol was chrome-coloured, rather than red, however.  
_Damn!_  
As it drew nearer, it changed; from the symbol, a creature began to claw its way out, as if the symbol was some sort of portal.

"_Hey!_" Leo shouted at Daniel, "_Pact with me!_"  
The Noise, now resembling a grizzly bear, reared back and prepared to sink its claw into Leo...

"... I accept!"

Right as the claw began to graze the surface of Leo's skin, a burst of light emanated from between him and Daniel; it burned through the bear Noise, and pushed back the other Noise that were further away.

And in an instant they all retreated, back into the unseen void they had come from.

* * *

_Tick..._

_Tick..._

_Tick..._

_12:23:48:56_

The Timer on Leo's hand was still steadily counting down, unaffected by all of the chaos that had just transpired.

Most people had collapsed in exhaustion, some were, impressively, already making a plan on what to do next, and some had fled the Scramble Crossing altogether.  
But no matter where they were, the same thing was about to happen to everyone.

_Beep..._

_Beep..._

_Beep..._

_!?... What's that..._

_Beep..._

_Beep..._

_Beep..._

_A... Phone...?_

_Beep..._

_Beep..._

_Beep..._

Leo reached into his pocket and found a smartphone, one he had never seen before.  
On it, it displayed the Roman numeral 'II'.

_Beep..._  
'I'

_Beeeeeep  
'Zero'_

"_Welcome, Players._"  
A familiar voice echoed throughout the area; everyone else had found a similar phone in their pocket, and a recording was playing simultaneously from each device.

"_I am Goumaki Mushin, and I am the Conductor of the Remixed Reapers' Game,_" upon hearing these words, many of the 'Players' started to talk amongst themselves.

"'_Remixed_ Reapers' Game'?"

"Conductor?"

"Who the hell...?"

"_I'd like to take a moment to congratulate the 16 of you who have survived the warm-up, heh-heh-heh..._"  
Leo looked at Reagan, worryingly.

"_Who did you Pact with? That person is now your Partner for the remainder of your stay in the UnderGround; the UG._"

"'UG'..." Reagan whispered to herself, "is that where the dead go...?"  
Leo felt a slight pang of guilt as he was reminded of his failure to save Reagan.

"_Once a Pact is made, it can __**never**__ be broken. I do hope you chose wisely..._"  
Predictably, there were sighs of relief, and some arguing and regret as well.

"_The Remixed Reapers' Game is played in Cycles, opening on Mondays, and closing on Sundays. You will be given the opportunity to complete Missions, assigned via your Re:Phone, if you are successful, you will have earned yourself more Time to Exist; if you fail, you may be subject to Erasure._"

"Erasure...?" Leo noticed Camila repeating the word, gripping Michael closer to her; it seemed that they had successfully Pacted.

"_I caution Players not to think they can survive this Game by avoiding Missions; on your dominant hand, you'll see your Existence Timer, if you do not continue to earn Time, you will be Erased upon it hitting zero._"

Suddenly, Leo noticed the incessant ticking slowing down.

"_You will be pleased to know that you have all successfully taken your first step to survival, and have Pacted with a Partner. Unfortunately, there is no reward in terms of Time as it was not a Mission, however, your Timer will now be paused until 12:00am Tuesday, and from now on, completing a Mission on any given day will also pause your Timer until the dawn of the next day, as well as earning you the inherent rewards of the Mission._"

Leo's Timer slowed to a crawl, and finally stopped on _12:23:46:49_.

"_These are the basic guidelines to surviving this Game. If you wish to learn additional rules, and I recommend that you do, you will find a 'Help' option on your Re:Phone. Ask it any question, and it will provide you with the best possible answer. Probably,_" Mushin added, before giving a short, cold laugh.

"_And with that, this induction is complete; I wish the new Players the best of luck. You'll receive your first Mission in ten minutes; read the Mission Mail for details.  
Let your Game begin."_

There was a clattering noise; Mushin seemed to have picked up his recording device.

"_Oh... And, one more thing,_" he said, "_it's very likely that you have already met Players that have been in the Game longer than you; I don't encourage you to trust them._"  
Everyone looked to Katy, who was standing calmly with her arms crossed, emotionless.

"_... Looks can be deceiving._"  
Mushin let out one final, low laugh before the recording ended.

_KZZzzt..._

Silence.

* * *

**Alright, that's three chapters :D  
Magic number. At this point it's serious business =_=  
(Determined Face)  
Oh, and starting from here, this will be the average length of the chapters :D  
Exceptions may include... *Can't think of one ._.***

**I'd like to start putting random facts before and after chapters; I think I'll do that c:**

**Let's see... Katy is Japanese – British. There's one :P  
XD**

**If you have any questions or any kind of request, really, I'd like to hear them! Audience interaction is something I enjoy C:**

**And as always, reviewing, faving, or following would be much appreciated~  
It keeps me going XD  
Of course, it's a 'Free Country', so y'know. Your choice.  
... If you're in a country that's not 'free', I apologize.**

**And with that, I think I'm done :)  
I hope Chapter IV can be done a little faster, but I try to prioritize quality over update rate :P**

**Bye :D**


	4. Chapter IV - Before the Storm

**What'd I say? Something along the lines of 'I'll try to get the next chapter up a little faster'?**

**...**

**Yeah that turned out well.**

**I'd like to thank the infuriatingly humble Chronic Guardian for his support XD  
He called me 'kid' ;_;  
I feel so... Unworthy X'D**

* * *

**Now, before you read this, I **_**HIGHLY**_** recommend that you check out Chronic Guardian's **_**Twelve Shots of Summer**_** event, it's been going for almost a month :)**

**Basically, we upload one story per week, (each week having a different theme,) until Summer in the Northern Hemisphere, (yeah, CG, Imma refer to you,) is over; the third story is going up tomorrow, but definitely have a look at the past entries, 'kay? XD**

**HERE WE GO.**

* * *

**[I. Every character's name has some sort of meaning behind it, Westerners' usually come in the form of a pun.]**

* * *

**Chapter IV – Before the Storm**

"Mihael Anjelo, pleased to meet you!" Reagan's partner enthusiastically offered his hand to Leo as he introduced himself, having walked up to Leo on the sidewalk, "please call me 'Mihael'."  
A short distance away, Daniel was sitting down against a streetlamp, asleep.

"L-... Leo Parker... Nice to meet you," Leo stammered out as he accepted Anjelo's slightly-too-perky handshake, (which, for some reason, was presented a bit too far to Leo's right, forcing him to shuffle to the side to take it); Katy had called for Reagan's attention, she started talking to her, leaving Anjelo to introduce himself to Leo and Daniel.  
As Anjelo vigorously shook hands with Leo, he looked him over.

_Wild blonde hair, blue eyes... paint-stained shirt and a longcoat... Both white, what's he thinking...?  
_Leo half-forced a smile as he attempted to free his hand from Anjelo's, who promptly released him with a chuckle.  
_Some kind of... Mad painter...?_  
Anjelo, apparently satisfied with the meet and greet, energetically encouraged Leo to 'do his best', before jogging over to Daniel's position, tripping over the gutter as he did so.  
_... What a klutz..._ Leo thought to himself, he felt no urge to bully Anjelo over it, but he certainly wasn't sure whether to laugh or not.

It had been a little more than five minutes since Goumaki Mushin's recording had ended; most of the Players had collapsed to the ground in exhaustion, and some had even passed out.

Five more minutes, and the Scramble Crossing wouldn't be so peaceful...

* * *

"'Player Pin'...?" Reagan repeated after Katy, holding up the Pin she'd found in her pocket; the Pin was plain black, but had the stylised design of a white skull on it.  
Katy, in the middle of stretching her arms, did not respond straight away, but she did nod; after a deep inhale, followed by a long exhale, she looked Reagan right in the eyes,

"Yep, that's the most important Pin in the entire Game," she elaborated, with a stern expression on her face, before giving Reagan a startlingly cheerful grin, "I'm counting on you to tell everyone you can, 'kay?"

"And... Why me...? Not that I don't want to, but..." Reagan trailed off, but Katy understood what she meant.

"Well... Out of all the Players here..." She folded her arms before hesitantly explaining, "you seem like the... Smartest, honestly," Leo suddenly felt the atmosphere become heavier as several pairs of indignant eyes locked onto them.  
_... B-... Bad choice of words..._ Leo's gaze avoided everyone within earshot as they threw dirty looks in his direction.

"'Smartest'...? And how did you judge that?" Reagan inquired curiously; Katy's left elbow remained resting in her right hand while her left hand lightly stroked her lip in thought.

"I examined everyone as best I could... From what I saw, you're one of the few who could use a Psych without any problems." Katy explained.

"Mmngh..." Reagan looked away and made a small sound of uncertainty, "... That was nothing special... It was just... Instinct."

"Exactly." Katy couldn't help but grin.

_Hold on... 'Examined everybody'...?! When?_ Leo found himself wondering._  
... During that swarm of... 'Noise', if I had to guess... How did she pull that off...?_

"'Psych'?" Leo decided to speak up, having heard a familiarly over-friendly, "Pleased to meet you!" From behind him, he opted to join this conversation.  
Upon hearing Leo, Katy's head turned towards him; just as Leo started to introduce himself, he stopped dead in his tracks.

_Those eyes..._ For some reason, Katy was staring Leo down, not in an unfriendly manner, but certainly not in a friendly manner either; her eyes seemed to be judging him, gauging something, as if she had to determine if he was worthy to say what he had just said. The air grew thick, and Leo found himself unable to breathe; it felt like the moisture in his lungs had frozen solid, leaving his diaphragm pointlessly struggling to provide him with Oxygen.

_What piercing eyes...!_ Just when Leo couldn't bear to meet her gaze any longer, she closed her eyes, smiled to herself and... Laughed.  
A quiet sort of laugh, a small, yet dignified giggle; the sort of sound you expect to hear from a being far, far, above you, who had just witnessed you overcome some great trial, and laughed as if to say, "good work. I'm proud of you."

Apparently, the crushing sensation that Leo had just experienced went unnoticed by Reagan, who, noticing Leo's approach, decided to introduce him,

"Oh. Hey. This is Katy," Reagan tilted her head towards her, to get her point across, "you've probably figured it out by now, but she's a Player who joined the Game before we did." Reagan motioned towards Leo, "Katy, this is..."

Awkward silence ensued.

Reagan turned her head to Leo, and sharply narrowed her eyes at him; to Leo, she looked disturbingly like a teacher who was mildly ticked off by a student for not handing in his homework.

"Wh-... What?" Leo was confused, why didn't she just introduce him? Did she expect him to introduce himself? Not a problem, but why-  
Ah. Of course.

_Oh... I never told her my name...!_  
Leo's body quivered as he struggled to keep himself from bursting into laughter; after a few seconds, he calmed down, and smiled broadly.

"I'm... My name's Leo. Leo Parker. Nice to meet you."

* * *

Four minutes left.

"So, let me see if I've got this right." Leo stood up and started pacing, "in this... 'Reaper's Game', we complete Missions for Time; running out of Time means we've lost, and losing means..."

"Being 'Erased' from Existence, yes." Reagan finished for him; he looked towards her,

"You talk like you know everything..." Leo pointed out.

"I know that you're supposed to tell someone your name, if _they_ tell you _theirs_." Reagan stuck her tongue out at Leo, only half-joking.

"W-... Well..." Leo looked down, unable to think of a response; Katy laughed and added an additional point.

"Look. There are a _lot_ of rules to this Game. It took me almost two weeks to remember all of them," Reagan's brow furrowed slightly when she considered just how many rules there could be, "it's very important that you familiarize yourself with the main rules within... Three days."

"No problem." Reagan declared optimistically, though right as she said that, Leo gave his own response simultaneously.

"What." Leo said that one word in a flat tone while giving Katy a 'seriously?' look, "three days? For what took you two weeks-"

"She said _main_ rules," Reagan reminded Leo, "I'm supposing that about 20% are necessary for survival, and the other 80% we can go without...?" She half-asked, half-stated to Katy, who smiled appraisingly.

"... I'd say that sounds about right," Katy approved, nodding her head in satisfaction, (Leo opened his mouth as if he were about to object, but promptly closed it again,) "now, we have..." Katy looked at her right hand, which was still ticking down, "... Less than two minutes." Katy pointed out in a serious tone, not smiling anymore, "you should go give your Partners the run-down."  
Leo, reminded of them, took a backwards glance to see a keen Anjelo discussing something to a less-than-keen Daniel; Anjelo's dynamic hand gestures made him think of a sign-language specialist.  
Just then, before Leo and Reagan could return to them...

"Hey." Leo, Reagan, and Katy turned to see the girl from earlier, Camila; it looked like she was addressing Katy more than anyone.

"... Yes?" Katy spoke back, unsure of what she wanted.

"Why are you helping them?" Camila questioned her boldly, staring right into her eyes, Leo noticed that if the majority of the Players weren't watching them before, they were now. Katy looked back at Camila, apparently unfazed, and repeated the question back at her.

"'Why am I helping them'...? I'm not sure what you mean by that-" Katy attempted to blow the question off, but Camila forcefully cut in.

"I'm not stupid, you know what I mean: Why are you helping _them_? Do you know them? Why aren't you helping us? I guess _our_ lives aren't worth anything, huh?" Maybe her behaviour could be attributed to nerves or something similar, but Leo was nonetheless taken aback by her interrogative manner; Reagan then stepped forward, looking the slightest bit irritated.

"If I may-"

"Camila, stop it." Camila's Partner, Michael intervened before Reagan could, placing a hand on Camila's shoulder, and giving Katy a curt bow in apology, "please forgive us, she's just-"

"I'm not '_just_' anything!" Camila snapped, pointing towards the other Players watching the argument, "everyone's thinking the same thing, you're suspicious." Camila finished unexpectedly with an outright insult. Katy's lips twitched into a sad smile briefly before disappearing.

"... Are you referring to the Conductor's message...?"

"Yes, and another thing, you seem to know a lot about this 'Game'." Leo couldn't take it anymore.  
_What happened to that sweet, crying girl from earlier...?_ He thought as he too stepped up.

"Hey, if you've been paying attention, you'll notice that she saved you _and_ your friend there, more than once, along with everyone else _here_, for that matter; are you going to trust some recording on this..." Leo dangled his Phone by its strap for everyone to see, "... Thing, over her?"

"Yes." She responded instantly, but less aggressively.

Silence.

"... Well, I'm done." Leo gave an amused laugh and turned to get Daniel, before realising that he was already standing behind him.

"And another thing," Reagan finally managed to get a word in, "she's clearly been in this Game longer, so she-"

"I didn't ask you." Camila retorted scathingly, surprising Reagan a little.

"Camila, that was uncalled for." Michael attempted to pull her away, but she refused to move.  
Reagan looked Camila over several times, periodically looking at Katy and Michael before returning to her, and then...

"... You're very..." Reagan seemed to be choosing what word she should use, "... Possessive, aren't you?" Camila's face flushed a deep scarlet, it appeared that Reagan's analysis, however confusing to everyone else, hit the bullseye; Camila then stammered out.

"Wh-... What...?! How dare you...?!" As amusing as Leo found this little exchange, they were squandering time, so he spoke up again, this time addressing Daniel, Reagan, Angelo, and Katy.

"Look, isn't it about time we leave?"  
Katy remained silent, not the response he was expecting, before speaking to herself.

"... 'Time to leave'..." Katy looked around the Scramble Crossing, at all of the different faces, regarding her with suspicion... And she gave that sad smile again, "... Yes... I guess I should." Turning to Leo and Reagan, and then looking out to all of the Players, she said one last thing, "everyone, if you trust me... No... Even if you don't... Please, try to survive, and always... _Always_ trust your Partner; do that, and you should be just fine." Giving one last warm smile, which made Leo wonder how anyone could still view her suspiciously, she suddenly ran off, away from the Scramble Crossing.

Three minutes left.

* * *

"Hey- Wait!" Leo, caught by surprise, did not react in time to stop Katy from leaving.

"... Hmph." Camila, apparently having regained her composure, let out a snort of derision, and walked away, arguing with Michael as she left.

"... What the hell was that?" Daniel asked Leo, who was half-considering running after Katy.

"Rrgh..." Leo let out a groan of irritation, "that girl... What was _her_ problem?"

"I dunno... She looked jealous, to me."

"... 'Jealous'?" Leo was curious.

"Yeah man, she was _kinda_ nice to you, but whenever she talked to a _girl_, she was a bit of a-"

"Hey, shouldn't we get after her?" Reagan interrupted, "she's a veteran Player, we could really use her help."

"I'm with her." Anjelo sang, seemingly unaffected by the disagreement that had just taken place; he was busy playing with some stray strands of hair in front of his face, and Leo began to think that everything was a joke to him; it seemed to Leo like Anjelo was pretending that his hair was making an effort to stay away from his hand, because every time he reached up to grab a strand, he would miss, laugh, and finally pull on it in a playful way, saying something like 'gotcha'.  
_... I guess she's right._ Leo conceded mentally, before agreeing out loud.

"Okay, let's go. Ready, Daniel?"

"... A'ight, let's go."  
The four Players sprinted after Katy, not noticing that the air in the Scramble Crossing was once again starting to distort...

Two minutes left.

* * *

"Damn... She moves fast...!" Daniel puffed in frustration as he gasped for air.  
Leo was surprised at how tired Daniel had become, it was only about half a minute from the Scramble Crossing to where they were now, at the Statue of Hachiko.  
And he wasn't the only one.

"Ah, man..." Anjelo knelt down and groaned, looking in Daniel's direction, "feelin' alright there, partner?" He smiled out of concern for him.

"I'm not your Partner..." Daniel tried to speak, but his breath came in ragged gasps.

"Well, of course you're not my _Partner..._" Anjelo acknowledged, making a gesture in the direction of Reagan, "... But we're still all 'partners', are we not?" His face shone again with that refreshingly optimistic take on the situation.  
Leo understood what he meant: Even without Pacting, Players could still work together, "so, we should take this moment to tell each other a bit about ourselves; I'm sure it will help in these Missions."  
Leo mulled over this for a moment before seeing that he had a point; knowing everyone's strengths and weaknesses could be vital.

"I'll start." Reagan piped up, on the ball.  
As usual.

"Wait... What about her...?" Daniel referred to Katy.

"I don't like it, but she's definitely long gone by now... Unfortunately," Reagan sighed, "but in any case, you all know my name, because I introduce myself when I'm _supposed_ to," she sent an imaginary slap towards Leo, who cringed slightly, "but in any case, if there's a Mission involving electronics, let me handle it; I'm a mechanic by profession." She grinned in a tomboyish manner while resting the back of her hand on her hip.

"Is that right...?" Daniel said, resting against Hachiko's podium.

"Yep, I also do programming with computers, but... That might be a little less useful..."

"... Hey Nel," Leo frowned slightly, looking at her hair, "that's pretty cool and all, but I've been wondering about a few things..."

"Go for it." Reagan smiled welcomingly; she could see the question before it came.

"Well... Your hair... Those green streaks are really... Vivid. They reach to the end of your braid without losing any colour," Leo pointed out the bright green highlights in her hair.

"Oh, these?" Reagan chuckled, and indicated a one from her fringe; smirking, she moved her hand, and held up the end of her the end of her braid, which had grown down to her lower-back, "but actually it's not dye or anything, its permanent Chlorine colouring. I... Swim a lot." She mumbled the last part, looking to the side.  
Meanwhile, Leo was both worried and confused.

"... Shouldn't you get that checke-"

"So! My turn, then?" Anjelo jumped in eagerly, leaving Leo with his finger raised in the air, his mouth half-open due to not finishing his sentence.

"I'm Mihael Anjelo," ("yeah, we know," Daniel muttered,) "and I absolutely _love_ painting!" Anjelo looked up as the sunlight reflected off of his bright blue eyes, which, Leo thought, looked a bit... Dull, "I'm not sure if a Mission involving art will come up, but if it does, I'm your guy!" He concluded with a snappy thumbs-up.

"... Right..." Daniel let out the word slowly, and decided to follow Reagan and Anjelo's suit, "I'm... Daniel Kerrman. I _was_ a basketball player, but..." He looked at his rather underworked arm, "... I guess you can figure out what my Entry Fee was."  
At this, Leo again raised his hand.

"Wait, wait... 'Entry Fee'...?" Leo's brow furrowed in worry, he had never heard the term before.

"I didn't know either." Anjelo laughed while looking down, his arms crossed, "don't worry 'bout it."

"Leo," Reagan called for his attention, "you met that guy in the black hood, right? He gave you a Timer and just gave out a lot of random information," Reagan indicated her own Timer, which had stopped on _9:23:46:49_; not noticing the 3 Day difference between her Timer and his own, Leo merely nodded, "I think the info he gave everyone was different," she put forward her theory, tapping the side of her temple in thought, "Daniel and I heard the part about the Entry Fee, but Mihael didn't; same as you, huh?"

"... Yeah." Leo reconfirmed, with noticeable hesitation; he was wondering exactly why the man had done that.  
Was it really totally random?

"I'm not clear on the workings or specifics," Reagan warned before explaining in a slightly pained tone, "but... It looks like a Player pays an Entry Fee upon entering the Game... And that Entry Fee is whatever that Player values most."

Leo stopped breathing momentarily, what you valued most? What had _he_ lost? You'd think he would notice the loss of something so important.  
Leo snapped out of it upon inferring the reason for Daniel's physique.

"... You...?"

"... Yeah." Daniel didn't mind finishing for Leo, "I'm Daniel Kerrman," he said, mainly to Reagan, considering he had already introduced himself to Leo and Mihael, "I've spent my life, dedicating myself to playing b-ball... So I guess they took my physical condition."  
Instead of questioning how they even managed to do that, Leo turned straight to Anjelo.

"What about you, Mihael?"

"Ah... Well... That's the thing..." He said mysteriously.

"What? What is it?"

"Well, it's... It's a..." He muttered, avoiding eye contact with Leo, apparently reluctant to tell him what he had lost.  
Now that Leo thought about it, Leo realised that Anjelo almost _never_ looked him in the eye.

"What...?" The suspense was killing Leo, was it part of him? A _person_? Could they take something that didn't even belong to you? That would be a bit unfair.

"It's a... A... A secret!" Anjelo finally finished with an expression like an 'XD' emoticon, with an even wider grin than Leo had back in the ruined car factory.

Quiet.

The suspense that Anjelo had clearly built up to screw everyone over had done just that; Daniel's face in particular was repeatedly twitching in irritation as he scowled.

"Man , if you don't want to tell us, just say so!"  
The team was off to a great start, clearly.

"Well..." Leo exhaled; he had already accustomed himself to Anjelo's happy-go-lucky attitude, "Nel... What about you?"

"..." Reagan kept quiet for a considerable amount of time before opening her mouth to speak, "... Actually, I-"

_Beep, beep_

The team collectively gasped as their Phones all went off simultaneously, and somewhere, in the distance, they could've sworn that a clock tower's hour hand had just moved, creating that well-known sound.

"Phone!" Leo inadvertently gasped out, but everyone had already gone for their own, and so Leo did the same.  
Pressing his finger on the 'Press to Unlock' prompt, Leo watched the smartphone's screen attentively as a message appeared on the screen.

[Welcome to the Reapers' Game, new Players! I am Isshin Genkata (言騙 一新), and I will be your Game Master this Week!  
To the other Players, the Theme Shift this week is a classic: _Wordplay!_]

"The hell is a 'Theme Shift'?" Daniel gritted his teeth, annoyed before his Phone beeped again, and surprisingly, answered his question.

"_Query Registered: 'Theme Shift' is a Weekly adjustment to the Reapers' Game by a Game Master. Until the next Theme Shift passes, Missions shall be assigned to follow the 'style' of the current Theme._"

[I wish all Players' the best of luck; today's Main Mission is as follows, and of course, only new Players may participate.

_Puzzle I:  
__The First is a first; a number that's prime,  
__The Second turns H to P, all five,  
__The Third is death, and since you have died...  
__Make it to my whole in time._]

Leo looked up in sheer bewilderment; Daniel had done the same, looking just as lost as he was, if not more; Anjelo simply glanced towards Reagan before giving a resigned smile, and stowing his Phone away in his pocket; Reagan was the only one not looking lost, in fact she was arduously studying her screen, keeping her cool; Leo wished he could do the same.  
_What the hell are we going to do...?_

Zero.

* * *

**[II. Japanese characters' name's meanings are hidden in the kanji and pronunciation used to write them.]**

* * *

**That took **_**WAY**_** longer than it should have, I apologize...  
I hope everyone enjoyed that; it's weird, I've actually planned out a **_**lot**_** of the story, Missions, and even the ending :P  
But I guess writing it down is a different matter...**

**Anyway, again, go have a gander at The **_**Twelve Shots of Summer**_**, or 'T-Sauce', which I've inadvertently caused to become its nickname... Somehow...  
And have a nice day! I'll be back when I can, don't wait up XD**


	5. Chapter V - The First Mission

**Must... Update... Faster...**

**Hey, hey! Just letting everyone know, Chapter IV got an update, specifically: Genkata's message to the Players.  
If you can kanji, you may appreciate it XD**

**What happened to audience interaction? X3  
Come on, come on! Leave suggestions/questions :D  
Of course, if you think I'm just trying to get more reviews, you could always just PM me XP  
Of course... That's a bit of a hassle, I guess...  
... So really, you're completely justified in not doing anything.**

**:'|**

* * *

**[III. '**°**' is pronounced 'Maru' :P]**

* * *

**Chapter V – The First Mission**

Stab.

Scream.

Noise.

Leo winced as his left hand experienced a sudden stinging sensation; it looked like the others had felt the same thing, as they simultaneously flinched.  
Before Leo could inspect his hand, he instantly became aware of the screaming that was coming from the direction of the Scramble Crossing; the ground encircling the Statue of Hachiko area shook, and a high-pitched wail filled the sky.  
The four Players slammed their hands over their ears in an attempt to stop the noise, but Anjelo in particular looked to be in extreme pain over the uproar.

"_Aargh...!_" He held his head and dropped to the ground, writhing in agony.  
Suddenly, blood-like liquid seeped from cracks in the ground and whirled into an all-too-familiar shape...

* * *

"Noise Symbols!" Reagan warned the others, on her knees in pain; Leo felt like his head was about to split.  
A Symbol flew straight at Leo, who likewise, was kneeling down, trying to shake the pain off like you would a minor headache.

"What are you... _Move!_" Reagan gripped the lightning Pin in her hand; green sparks flickered momentarily around her shoes before she shot forward and attempted to yank Leo out of harm's way.  
Too late, the Symbol made the smallest amount of contact with Leo, and the world started to warp...  
_What's... Going on...?_  
Crimson tinted Leo's vision as he felt himself being pulled through some sort of portal, vaguely aware of Reagan still holding onto him.  
Suddenly, it all stopped; Leo fell face-first onto the ground, and Reagan fell right on top of Leo.

"_Ugh...!_" Leo gasped as the wind was knocked out of him, twice.

"_Aagh! Sorry!_" Reagan yelped and quickly stood up, leaving Leo looking a little like a crushed lizard.

"'s... Fine..." Leo wheezed, not moving.

"Um... What happened, anyway...?" She changed the subject, looking around.  
From what it seemed, they had been lifted up, and then dropped back down in the same place, "... No one else is around... Not even Dan or Mihael..." Reagan pushed those thoughts back for later, and knelt down, ready to help Leo to his feet; as she lowered herself, something bright green flew past her face, leaving a singed feeling on the tips of her bangs, "what the...!?" Reagan jumped back and looked to see what had nearly hit her full in the head.

"That's..." Leo said groggily, sitting up, "... A frog...?"  
Leo was more or less correct, what sat about 6 metres away from him strongly resembled a frog, only with blue tattoos on its back, and blue back legs that looked to be a cross between floating bones and two-dimensional, floating tattoos.  
The frog tilted its head very slightly to the right, watching Leo and Reagan; if they didn't know better, they might have thought it cute.

_Whoosh!_

Without warning, it bounded forward, and latched onto Reagan's arm.

"_Nnrgh!_" Reagan bit back a scream and flung the creature away; she could still feel the burning pain it left on her.  
Leo immediately jumped up into a battle stance, despite realising that physically attacking such a being was useless.  
And then...

_Kzzt...!_

"_Hello, hello, hello!_" Both Players' Phones crackled, and a young girl's voice emanated from them, "... _My my, what do we have here? It looks like TWO Players have wandered into the same Zone from the get-go! And what's this...? They aren't even Partnered to each other!_"

"Wha- Who...!?" Leo's hand immediately pulled his Phone up, and looked at the screen:

[Call In-Progress]

"_You can save the questions for later! Right now, I, Coco 'Livewire' Atarashi, will be your guide during your first Noise Erasure!_" She announced with a cheeriness that rivalled Anjelo's.  
The frog 'Noise' leaped towards Leo this time, having more or less failed to hurt Reagan; Leo swiftly sidestepped, but reflexively twisted into a kick, burning his leg.

"_Oww...!_"

"_C'mon,_" Coco reprimanded Leo crossly, "_you can't touch the Noise, 'k? They can Decode your Soul just by touching you!_"  
Leo gritted his teeth and sprung backwards, putting some distance between the Noise, before speaking into his Phone.

"Fine, then 'guide' us!" Leo requested impatiently, staying light on his feet, in case the Noise attacked again, "tell us how to... Erase it!"

"_Aaalrighty!_" Coco sang enthusiastically, "_first step: Choose a Pin!_"

"A Pin...?" The words were barely out of Leo's mouth when Reagan raised the lightning Pin in her hand; Leo, remembering where he had found his Player Pin, dug around his pocket, and... "... Fire?" The Pin that Leo pulled out had a stylised image of two interweaving waves of flame.

"_Heyyy, that's a Level THREE Fire Path Pin!_" Coco sounding both impressed and shocked, "_lucky you!_"

"Wait, how-"

"_Shhh, questions later!_" Coco scolded Leo before he could finish, "_now, all you have to do is use that Pyrokinetics Pin to burn that there Dixiefrog Noise away!_"

"_Now, just use that Thunderbolt Pin to zap that there Dixiefrog Noise, 'kay?_" Leo suddenly realised that Reagan's Phone was saying something entirely different to his own.  
However, it was definitely the same voice.

"_Nnk...!_" Leo rolled sideways, as the Noise scraped past his face.  
_... Pay attention!_

"_Hey! Pay attention!_" Coco somehow managed to tell Leo off just as he was doing so, "_if you're Erased, that's it. Game over; don't mess around!_" She seemed genuinely concerned, but then again, relative to a demon frog spawn trying to eat your face, most others would.

_... Focus..._  
Leo found himself acting on instinct, and silently reared his arm back, as if to pitch the Pin directly at the Noise... But that wasn't his plan, of course.  
_Concentrate...!_  
His mind flew back to the Scramble Crossing, where Katy had restrained multiple Noise by conjuring chains from a Pin.  
_Chains... Lightning... Fire..._  
He could feel it. It was building up inside him, waiting to be released.

"Leo!" Reagan yelled as the Noise lunged at him.  
This was it.

"_Take... THIS...!_" Leo threw his arm forward, and...  
Nothing.

_Kzzzt...!_

"_OW, OW!_" Leo threw the Noise off his arm, and retreated several metres, looking just like a whipped dog.  
A scene quite... Sad.

"What the hell was that...?!" Reagan looked at Leo incredulously, not sure whether to worry, or laugh.

"Aargh... Dammit!" Leo shook his arm; it felt thoroughly cooked, and was starting to flicker, as if it were fading out of Existence...

"_HEY!_"  
Leo jumped as Coco yelled at him through his Phone, "_What'd I just say?_"

"I _got_ it, I _got_ it!" Leo groaned, staring at the Pin in his hand, which he was now actually considering throwing at the Noise.  
_Stupid thing..._

"_Imagine the fire..._"

"... What?" Leo wasn't sure he had heard her correctly.

"_There's no way a designer pin can produce fire on its own, right? So... You'll just have to Imagine the fire._"  
Cryptic.

"Whoops...!" Leo heard something behind him, and narrowly avoided being blindsided by a new frog Noise, "ugh... Another one. Not good."

"... Yes," Reagan smiled grimly, "not one, but _two_ frogs; we might as well give up now, really."

"Pfft. Please."  
There was a moment's silence before suddenly, a glowing, green sphere of light, flew out of nowhere, and enshrouded Reagan; she drew a short, sharp breath, before relaxing, seemingly comforted by the green aura that now enshrouded her.  
Before Leo could say anything, she raised her arm straight up, and bright neon energy started to crackle around the Pin in her hand...

"... _Thunderbolt._"  
The new Noise was instantly obliterated.

"_Yaaay!_" Leo could hear Coco clapping her hands, "_you got it, you got it!_"

"What?!" Disbelief ran through his mind, "wait, how'd you do that?!"

"Imagine it...!" Reagan gasped out as the remaining Noise latched on to her leg, and was subsequently kicked off.

"Just _tell_ me!" Leo said, a bit irritated.

"_Wow... And you struck me as the smart type, mister,_" Coco giggled, "_that's it. 'Imagine it'._"

_... No way._  
"... You're saying that all I have to do is _imagine_ it?"

"_Yep!... But saying the Psych's name helps, too._"

"You could've _told_ me that!"

"Stop bickering, and _do it!_" Reagan received a direct hit to the chest from the Noise, and fell to the ground, "ow..."  
She wasn't quite as nimble as Leo, at least, when she didn't have her 'OverAssist' gear.

"... Got it!" He broke off from Coco, and dashed in-between the downed Reagan and the frog Noise.  
This time, he didn't focus on his physical movement as much, rather, he conjured the strongest image his mind would allow...  
_... Heat... A tower of flame, glowing... Writhing... _  
"This time for sure!" His arm sliced downward through the air, "_Pyrokinetics!_"

* * *

"That fire... _I_ did that...?!"  
Leo's attack had left nothing but a smouldering mark in front of Hachiko.  
Shocked, he stared at where the Noise _had_ been, breathing heavily.

"_Wow, top marks, Parky! You too, Raegen! Noise Erasure Examination passed!_"

"'Wry... Gen'...?" Reagan let out a long breath, brushed off some dust that had been kicked up by the explosion, and pulled her Phone to her ear; her name was pronounced 'Nellie-el Ray-gen' rather than, say, 'Nel-eel Ree-Jen', but oddly, Coco had just called her 'Rai-gen'.

"_Yeah!_" Coco laughed, "_'_雷源_', it means 'Thunder Origin'!_"

"..."

"..."

"_... It sounds cooler in Japanese!_"

"No doubt, why 'Parker'?" Leo spoke quickly, desperately searching for any way to take his mind off the fact that he had just torched the street with nothing but his Imagination.

"_No, no, 'Parky'. You _were_ wearing a parka, right?_"

"It's... More of a hoodie, if anything-"

"_Okay, so,_" Coco cut in, "_your Partners are asking about you._"

"Yeah, where are-"

"We're fine, how are they?" Reagan's leg shook as she stood, but she didn't complain.

"_They're just peachy! Well... Dunkerman looks a bit laid out, but Michelangelo's helping him._"

"Whoa... 'Dunkerman', should I-" Leo instantly regretted bringing it up.

"_Well, he's Daniel Kerrman, right? 'Dan Kerrman': 'Dunkerman'!_"  
(Reagan fought to keep herself from collapsing back onto the ground and laughing,) "_look, I have other things to do, but I'll send you all a message; read that, 'kay?_"  
Leo sighed and sat down, watching Reagan double over, trembling violently to keep herself together.

"Alright, Live. Thanks for your help."

"_'Live'?_"

"Well, since you love nicknames so much..." Leo chuckled, "... I don't know what's up with 'Livewire', but I'll be calling you 'Live' from here on out."

"_... Heheh,_" Coco gave Leo what sounded like an embarrassed laugh, "_no one's ever given _me_ a nickname before... I'll take it!_"

"Heh. Alright then." A smile spread across Leo's face.

"_Take care of yourself, Parky; I hope we can talk again soon._"

[Call Disconnected]

* * *

[Attention, new Players! My name is Coco 'Livewire' Atarashi! (新 '頼舞話癒' 子々) :D  
And _I_ am your 'interactive help-desk'! :3  
四六四九~  
Of course, the Re:Phone can answer any questions you may have...  
... _But_, it can only answer straight questions, in a _boring_ manner! \\_-_-_/  
So, if you ever need a helping of cute, spunky help, I'm your girl! x3  
But! o_o  
Only Players who can channel sufficient Soul into the Re:Phone can contact me :O  
I'll see you then xD  
P.S. Ask your Re:Phone for the 'Basic Rules'. It'll help. Promise! ;)]

* * *

"... Any idea what _that_ was about?" Leo had found that light-heartedness on this level was... 'Refreshing', shall we say.

"Don't really know..." Anjelo chuckled.

"Don't really care..." Daniel mumbled.

"... Daniel, the Phone answered you earlier, try asking it something, again." Reagan suggested, having recovered from her laughing fit.  
After Coco had disconnected her call, all four of them had been seemingly 'warped' back to the Statue of Hachiko, now populated by people; Daniel seemed to be particularly disturbed by something, continuously looking at Anjelo, but Leo attributed it to the natural emotional response to being attacked by demon frog spawn.

"... A'ight," Daniel brought his Phone to his mouth, and spoke in a clear voice, "... What... Are the 'basic rules'?"  
...

_Beep_

"_Query Registered: Displaying Basic Rules of the Remixed Reapers' Game._"

* * *

[_The Remixed Reapers' Game – Basic Rules:_

Pre-Game:  
The Game takes place in the UnderGround, (UG) a Plane of Existence higher than the RealGround (RG), where you lived your human life.  
The Game is run by the Reapers, and orchestrated by their leader, the Composer, and His representative, the Conductor.  
After death, your Soul is Coded into a new body, for your stay in the UG.  
Before you can enter the Game, the Conductor must take an Entry Fee from you; the Entry Fee is representative of what you valued most from your life in the RG, and will be returned to you, if you complete the Game.

Post-Entry:  
Upon entering the Game, you are given a random number of Days to Exist.  
Your Days to Exist can range from a minimum of 1 to a maximum of 12.  
Your remaining Time until Erasure is displayed on your Existance Timer, found on your dominant hand.  
If your Existence Timer hits zero, you forfeit the Game, your Entry Fee, and your right to Exist.  
Entry Fees are non-refundable, and are lost forever if you are Erased.  
There is a common human saying that holds true in the UG, 'time is money'; Yen Pins have been phased out, with Time replacing them as the UG's currency.  
If at any time, your Existence Timer equals or exceeds the amount of time needed to purchase passage back to the RG, you will be transported to the Dead God's Pad to complete the EndGame.  
Time may be added to your Existence Timer via Clocking, Erasing Noise, or through the completion of Missions.  
When the Game starts, you have minutes to Pact with another Player; you _cannot play the Game without a Partner_.

Missions and Timers:  
The completion of Missions is the primary, and recommended way that a Player can earn Time to stay in Existence.  
Missions follow a Theme, dictated by the Game Master; for example, if the Theme is 'combat', Missions will force you into conflict, rather than allow completion via pacifistic means.  
Main Missions are issued on a daily basis by the Game Master, these Missions provide Players with sufficient Time for survival.  
Game Masters run the Game in Cycles, from Mondays to Sundays; when a Cycle is complete, the old Game Master is replaced by a new Game Master.  
New Game Masters are chosen from high-ranking Officer Reapers, and introduce a new Theme Shift when starting a Cycle, which changes the Theme to something of their choosing.  
When a Mission is taken, you are issued a Mission Timer, found on your recessive hand, showing your TimeLimit for the Mission.  
Allowing your Mission Timer to hit zero results in Mission Failure; you receive a Time penalty of half of the Mission's TimeLimit, as well as half of the remaining Time on your Existence Timer.  
Completing a Mission before the Mission Timer hits zero will earn a Player back the Time spent on the Mission, as well as whatever reward(s) were offered for the completion of the Mission.  
Completing a Main Mission stops the countdown of your Existence Timer until the next Main Mission is issued.  
Players accept Main Missions by default, but you _may_ elect to not participate; doing so will result in a lesser penalty, equal to that of the Mission TimeLimit.  
Open Missions are numerous, but optional, and may be taken up through your Re:Phone, the difficulty and types of rewards in these Missions varies significantly from Main Missions.  
Ender Missions are immensely difficult, issued only on Sunday, the final day of a Cycle, and only to Players who have completed the 6 Main Missions that preceded it.  
While being high-risk, Ender Missions offer valuable rewards for completion, including large amounts of Time.  
Players cannot start a new Mission before their previous one has been resolved.

Equipment:  
Upon entering the Game, each Player receives: 1 Player Pin, 1 Re:Phone, 6 random Pins.  
Upon Pacting, each Player receives: 1 Harmonizer Pin, 1 Desperado Pin.  
The Player Pin is proof of a Player's entry to the Remixed Reapers' Game.  
The Re:Phone is the main means of accepting Missions, and of storing equipment.  
Pins are the primary tool used to channel your Soul; with appropriate Imagination, a Psych can be activated from one.  
The following items are unique to each Player, and can neither be lost nor destroyed: Player Pin, Re:Phone, Harmonizer Pin, Desperado Pin.

Re:Phone:  
Main Menu Summation:  
1\. Contacts - Dossier on Players that you have met.  
2\. Noise Report - Report on Noise that you have encountered.  
3\. Storage - Contains items currently stored in your Re:Phone.  
4\. Armoury - Contains Pins currently stored in your Re:Phone  
5\. Missions - List of Missions available for Players.  
6\. Tin Pin - Leisurely mini-game application designed by Coco 'Livewire' Atarashi.  
7\. Media - Includes: Documents, Music, Camera, and Video.  
8\. Player State: Complete analysis and report of Player.  
9\. Map - Map of Shibuya districts visited by you since entering the Game.

Partners:  
Trust your Partner.  
To acquire a Partner, you must Pact with a Player.  
Pacting is the act of consciously deciding to accept one as your Partner for the foreseeable future; without sufficient conviction, one cannot Pact.  
Partners' Souls are bound together, they can raise each other up, but just as easily bring each other down.  
With a Partner, a Player's capabilities are bolstered beyond their ordinary limits: Vitality, Soul, and Imagination, are all shared between Partners.  
Without a Partner, a Player is all but powerless, your Imagination is significantly weaker without the stimulus of a Partner's Soul, cutting the power of your Psychs down by a large degree.  
If you attempt to play the Game without a Partner for more than 7 minutes, a Noise horde will be released to Erase you.  
Pacts _cannot be broken_, unless one Partner is Erased, or wins the Game.

Noise:  
Noise are your enemy.  
Noise are composed of unbound wisps of Soul, and can Decode Players' Soul on contact.  
Noise are separated into categories, including: Blood, Negative, Ringleader, and Bonus.  
Blood Noise are crimson; composed of stray Imagination.  
Negative Noise are chrome; composed of negative emotion.  
Ringleader Noise are cobalt; composed of stray Imagination _and_ negative emotion.  
Bonus Noise are emerald; Erasing these Noise will earn you a large time bonus; Erase these Noise on sight.  
Noise have the ability to manifest portals in the UG, in the form of Noise Symbols; touching a Noise Symbol will draw you and your Partner into the Noise Plane.

Existence:  
Planes of Existence related to the Game include: The RealGround, the UnderGround, and the NoisePlane.  
RealGround – The lowest-order Plane; you may choose to return to the RG, if you win the Game.  
UnderGround – A higher-order Plane, on which the Remixed Reapers' Game takes place; the UG is also the homeland of the Reapers.  
NoisePlane – A Plane of Existence that exists just below the UG; the NP contains unbound Soul radicals, left over from Erased matter from the RG/UG; here, Soul particles bind together to form Noise.  
The NP is unique, in that its structure is extremely unstable; the NP is capable of splitting into two Parallel Planes, or 'Zones'; these Zones exist side-by-side, as opposed to simply existing above and/or below.  
When entering combat, Players may be forcibly drawn into the NP; each Partner goes to a separate Zone.  
Any Noise in the NP is 'split' into two, each 'side' of the Noise inhabiting a different Zone.  
Unlike Noise, Players have Partners, which allows them to enter the NP unscathed, albeit separated from their Partner; this is possible as a Player's Soul represents the 'other side' of their Partner's.  
If a Player without a Partner is touched by a Noise Symbol, with no Partner to stabilize their Soul, the Player's Soul will be ripped apart, or 'Decoded'.

Combat:  
-_Locked-_

Pin Paths:  
_-Locked-_

Solo/Remix:  
_-Locked-_]

* * *

"... What the actual hell...?!" Leo stared at the swamp of words cascading down the screen, "'_Basic_ Rules'? That's insane!"  
Daniel made a 'tsk' of irritation, and practically threw his Phone into his pocket.  
Anjelo laughed, and stored his Phone inside his coat.  
Reagan... _Seemed_ to be reading the rules; she had a similar expression to the one she had when reading Genkata's Puzzle, "well... One thing I _do_ know..." Leo looked at his left palm, and his right palm, respectively.

_14:47...  
14:46...  
14:45..._

_12:23:00:36...  
12:23:00:35...  
12:23:00:34..._

_So... I have about 13 Days until I'm... Erased._

"Hey!" Reagan shouted grabbing everyone's attention, "the Mission Timer... We only have less than 20 minutes until we fail...!"

"... Well, let's book it, then!" Daniel stood up shakily, and started to run to the Scramble Crossing.

"Wait, Daniel, where are you going?!" Leo made no attempt to go after him.

"What are you talking about? You heard her, we got less than 20 minutes!"

"... Dunkerman," Anjelo ran his fingers through his hair and sighed, (Leo could have sworn that Daniel just popped a blood vessel,) "yes, we're running out of time... But do you _know_ where you're going...?"

"..." Of course he didn't.  
He hadn't the slightest idea what Genkata's riddle meant; he was more of a... 'Leap before you look' type of person.

"However," Anjelo grinned, "the Scramble Crossing _is_ a good place to regroup, since you can get to most of Shibuya from there." Waving at Leo and Reagan to follow, Anjelo started to jog leisurely away from Hachiko.

"Wait, then why the hell did you stop me, we're wasting time-"

"Waiting on you, now." Anjelo laughed and zoomed past him with his arms outstretched, pretending to be an aeroplane.

"... I swear I'm gonna punch that guy in the face..." Daniel shook his head, and ran after Anjelo, with Leo and Reagan following suit.

* * *

_08:29...  
08:28...  
08:27..._

"8 minutes, 30...!" Leo looked at his three companions, pacing in the middle of the Crossing.

"'The First is a first; a number that's prime. The Second turns H to P, all five. The Third is death, and since you have died... Make it to my whole in time'... Right?" Daniel gasped, catching his breath on the ground.

"'Wordplay'..." Anjelo murmured to himself, "how can we apply wordplay to this...?"

"Well... 'First is a first; a number that's prime', I think it's '1'." Reagan gave her first input on the Puzzle.

"'One'?" Leo looked at her.

"Right... It's a prime number... 'Number that's prime', and it _is_ a first... Although this kind of puzzle _is_ a first in itself... At least, for me."

"If you have time to make jokes, then solve the stupid thing...!" Daniel's panting didn't seem to be slowing.

_07:01...  
07:00...  
06:59..._

"... Wait." Anjelo suddenly looked very serious, "if we're talking numbers... 'The Third is death' could be '4'."

"... Yeah, you're right," Leo quickly agreed, "Because '四', four, and '死', death, are pronounced the same way... is that what you're saying?"

"Then... What turns 'H to P'...?" Reagan was worried, she wasn't as well-versed in Japanese as she should be.

"'All five'..." Anjelo reminded her.

_03:34...  
03:33...  
03:32..._

"... I got it...!" Daniel gasped, and pushed himself to his feet, "The First is '1', the first prime number; the Third is '4', because '4 is death'; the Second..." He took a breath to calm himself, "in the Japanese alphabet, '°' affects the pronunciation of five letters, 'は', 'ひ', 'ふ', 'へ', and ほ'; they all normally begin with the 'H' consonant, but the '°' changes it..."

"... Into a 'P'!" Leo finished for him.

"Nice work, Dunkerman..."

"So... We have 'One-Maru-Four'...?" Reagan said.

"No..." Daniel finally caught his breath, "it's 'Ichi-Maru-Yon'... 104..."

"!... The 104 Building...!" Leo turned around to see their target, towering behind them.  
_Three Minutes Left..._

* * *

**[IV. 'Four' and 'Death' are both pronounced 'Shi'.]**

* * *

**X'D  
Updated.**

**I entered a contest!  
Details on my profile.  
Check plz :3**

**G'day.**

***Makes escape from readers preparing to shoot me over the Puzzle***


	6. Chapter VI - Partners

**I'm wondering exactly how many of you want to kill me for my little '104' stunt :P**

**Probably one hundred and four of you X'D**

* * *

**[V. In Japanese, instead of 'Ten-Four', 104's called 'Ichi-Maru-Yon'.]**

* * *

**Chapter VI – Partners**

_Beep, beep_

The inside of the 104 Building was suddenly filled with the beeping of Players' Phones.

"_Main Mission Puzzle I Cleared_," the familiar, emotionless, synthesised female voice echoed throughout 104, "number of Players failed... [Four]..." it concluded.  
Leo, Daniel, Anjelo, and Reagan all hit the floor, as the strength left their bodies.

"... We..." Leo gasped for air, and drew his eyes to his Mission Timer, which had finally stopped ticking. "Made it..."  
Thirteen seconds left.

"That was... Too close..." Reagan, who was looking at her own Timer, could barely move, due to exhaustion. "Next time let's... Not take a detour..."

"That was the... Detour from Hell..." Anjelo coughed out, somehow still grinning.  
Daniel seemed to have passed out.  
Four Players had been Erased.  
But they had made it.  
One Mission down.  
Six to go...

* * *

_02:58_

"_MOVE!_" Leo shouted, and sprinted as fast as he could, towards 104.  
Reagan quickly followed him.  
Daniel's ankle rolled painfully, as he attempted keep up with them, and he crashed to the ground.  
Anjelo tripped on the gutter, and fell down along-side Daniel.

_02:50..._

"Dammit!" Leo did a swift 180, and ran over to his fallen partners. "Nel! You go ahead!" Leo called over his shoulder, then grabbed Daniel's wasted arm, and hauled him up.

"Don't... Help me...!" Daniel shook him off, and struggled to move himself towards 104; Leo shot him an irritated look, but quickly moved on to helping Anjelo... Only to find that he was gone.

_02:44..._

"Hey... Mihael...!" Panicking, Leo spun around, until he caught sight of Reagan, holding Mihael's wrist and pulling him towards 104.

"You think I'm leaving any of you behind?!" Reagan yelled over at Leo, and continued on. "Now hurry up!"  
Leo allowed himself a brief smile, and swiftly ran after them.

_02:39..._

* * *

"104, we're here!" Leo skidded to a halt, and made a quick headcount: Everyone was still with him.

_02:15..._  
_02:14..._  
_02:13..._

"No... The Timer's still ticking!" Anjelo rubbed the part of his head that had collided with the concrete, and worringly looked at his Timer.

"So it's _not_ 104?!" Leo wracked his brain for another target, but they couldn't possibly reach it within 2 minutes or so, even if they knew what it was.

"Inside!" Reagan, who had released Anjelo, and was now attempting to help Daniel stand up again, ordered everyone. "Get inside the Building!"  
What else could they do?

"Don't let it touch you!" All four Players turned to see two familiar figures running towards 104 as fast as they could.  
Camila heard Michael's warning just in time, diving forward to avoid a large, swooping, Blue Noise Symbol, and hitting the asphalt with a small scream.

"Tch...!" Reagan gritted her teeth, and sliced her arm through the air. "_Thunderbolt!_"

_KZZZT...!_

_02:04..._

The Noise Symbol paused for a moment, and then slowly, ominously advanced towards Reagan.

"No way...!" Reagan gasped out; on top of achieving nothing but the further aggravation of the Noise Symbol, it seemed that using the Thunderbolt Pin had drained her.

"Symbols are looking a bit sturdier than actual Noise..." Leo readied his own Pin.

"Guys... We don't have time for this...!" Daniel panted, and weakly attempted to free his arm from Reagan's grasp.

"... _Quake!_" Leo heard Anjelo's voice, followed by a barrage of rocks and gravel, spraying out from behind him, and subsequently bombarding the Noise Symbol.

_KzzZZzzt..._

No visible effect.

_01:47..._

"_Aquaflow!_" A miniature torrent of water jetted out of Camila's Pin, and struck the Symbol from behind, stopping it about 10 metres from Reagan, albeit not damaging it.

"Why the hell would _water_ hurt it?!" Daniel yelled.

"Shut _up! _It's the only Pin I've _got!_" Camila screamed back.

"Never mind!" Leo shouted. "You three, just get in the Building; I'll help them!"

"You Goddamn..." Before anyone could stop him, Daniel pulled himself away from Reagan, and charged at the Noise.

"Daniel!" Reagan tried to call him back.

"Stop!" Leo said, right after Reagan.

_01:29..._

As Daniel closed in on the Noise Symbol, a grizzly bear Noise with arms resembling the frog Noise's legs, emerged from it and swung a claw at him; with surprising vigour, Daniel slid under it, and lunged forward.

"_Shockwave!_" Daniel landed a clean slash on the Noise with what appeared to be a blade of air. "Ugh..." His eyes widened, as he touched down, and dropped to one knee, shaking; it looked like he didn't expect to do that so well...

""_Dan!"_" Leo and Reagan both shouted as the Noise Symbol shook off Daniel's hit, and closed in on him.  
_If it touches him, we'll be sucked back in to that other Plane...!_

"Nelliel!" Angelo held up his Quake Pin, and gave Reagan an intense look.

_01:23..._

"... Got it...!" Reagan ran in front of Leo, and grabbed his hand, placing the Thunderbolt Pin in it.

"What are you-"

"Hold on to this!" Reagan ordered, and turned right around to face Daniel, pulling Leo as hard as she could. "... _Thunderbolt!_"  
Leo felt a sizzling pain in his hand, but he also felt his body become lighter, as energy from the Thunderbolt Pin coursed through him, pushing against the ground...

_BOOM!_

A familiar sound rang in Leo's head as he catapulted himself forward, helping Reagan throw him at the Noise, by kicking off of the ground.

_01:16..._

Leo flew through the air, swiftly closing in on the monster...

"_Quake!_" Anjelo yelled, causing the ground to crack, and break up into a field of stones that surrounded Leo, as he approached Noise; seeing him zooming toward it at an alarming speed, the Noise changed priorities, and prepared to sink its claw into Leo before he could slam into him.

"Hah!" Leo laughed at the Noise underestimating him. "What do you think I am? _Pyrokinetics!_" A gout of fire exploded out of his Pin, and slammed into the Noise, causing it to flinch, screeching.  
_THAT did something..._

_01:10..._

The stones converged on Leo's right shoulder, and formed a rocky pauldron, as he twisted and braced for impact.

"Take... _This...!_" Leo crashed into the Noise at a high velocity, using the pauldron to protect himself from the Noise's burn.

_CRUNCH...!_

Leo felt the tips of the Noise's claw slice through the air in front of his face, narrowly avoiding being touched, as he bounced slightly backward, and watched the Noise sail away from him, as he landed next to Daniel, his energy spent.

"... So, how was that...?" Leo whispered to Daniel, after a long pause.

"Not... Bad..." Daniel threw Leo a quick look of respect.

"No..." Leo suddenly heard Anjelo's voice shake.

"Leo! It's still up!" Reagan warned him; Leo's eyes snapped forward, to see the Noise slowly, weakly, advancing back to them.

_00:46..._

"Oh, you have _got_ to be _kidding_ me...!" Leo murmured to himself.

_00:39..._

Just as Leo was attempting to think of another plan of attack...

"... _Aquafell!_" The Noise was suddenly impaled by a spike of water; additional, smaller spikes emerged from the larger, and perforated the Noise from inside-out, and finally, turning to ice, binding the Noise to the ground, and holding it in place. "... How's that?!" Camila gave Daniel an exhausted laugh, and continued. "_That's_ how water-"

"Whatever! Just get inside!" Daniel interrupted her, and hit Leo, lightly on the back. "Hey... Come on...!"

_00:24..._  
_00:23..._  
_00:22..._

"I got it, I got it!" Leo stood up, wobbled, and they both sprinted to Reagan and Anjelo, with Camila and Michael following.

_00:18..._  
_00:17..._  
_00:16..._

* * *

"So... What happens now?" Leo looked around the 104 Building from his spot on the floor; he didn't feel like moving anytime soon.

"Well... Timers have stopped..." Reagan looked at her hands, everyone's Mission Timers had frozen on _00:13_.

"... Hey, guys... Look at this." Daniel, who had been fiddling with his Phone, held the screen up for everyone to see:

[_Player State:_  
_Name: Daniel Kerrman_

_Status: Dead_

_Age: 16_

_Gender: Male_

_Ethnicity: Filipino - French_

_Hair: Black_

_Eye Colour: Black_

_Entry Fee: Body Strength._

_Soul Revel: -Locked-_

_Partner: Leo Parker_

_Time to Exist: 08:22:44:02_]

"... What d'you think?" Daniel allowed them time to look the screen over.

"..." Reagan's green eyes reflected the screen's light, as she stared at it, intensely.

"Huh... Was that in..." Leo looked at the top of the screen before continuing. "... 'Player Status'?" He pulled out his own phone, and unlocked the screen.

"Yeah... What I want to know- well..." Daniel flipped the screen around, glanced at it, as if confirming something, and then flipped it around again. "... What's making me _curious_... Is this... 'Soul Revel' thing... Nel?"

"H-Huh?" Reagan stuttered, and looked at Daniel's face, in surprise. "Wh-... What?"

"... What do you think this is?" Daniel's eyes narrowed slightly, wondering why she seemed flustered. "You're the smart one here; what's 'Soul Revel' mean? And why's it 'locked'?"

"Just like the last three options on the basic rules..." Leo commented, without looking away from his screen, which now showed his own statistics.

[_Player State:_  
_Name: Leo Parker_

_Status: Dead_

_Age: 17_

_Gender: Male_

_Ethnicity: Brazilian - Japanese_

_Hair: Dark Auburn_

_Eye Colour: Dark Amber_

_Entry Fee: -Locked-_

_Soul Revel: -Locked-_

_Partner: Daniel Kerrman_

_Time to Exist: 08:22:44:02_]

Leo's heart stopped.  
_'Entry Fee... Locked'...?_

"... Wel-" Reagan turned away, and let out a suspiciously fake-sounding cough. "... Well, it's... Uh..."

"Something wrong there, Partner?" Anjelo interjected with a chuckle.

"Y-you..." Reagan's face flushed, as she shot Anjelo an embarrassed, infuriated look. "... You know exactly what's wrong..." She mumbled to herself, too low for most to hear.

"How 'bout you, Anjelo?" Daniel turned to him. "You haven't given us any ideas, yet."

"Well, Dunkerman," (_there goes another blood vessel..._ Leo thought to himself,) "I'm a bit..." Anjelo stopped mid-sentence, and abruptly collapsed to the ground, in a very-obviously-fake way.

"... What." Dunkerman- Daniel gritted his teeth, and stared at the Player's 'unconscious' form.  
Anjelo merely 'snored'.

"Isn't it obvious?"  
... Who said that?  
"If it's 'locked', that means that we're not meant to see it, yet." Camila walked over, with Michael in tow, "No point worrying 'bout it, right?" She grinned obnoxiously, and sat on the floor, next to Daniel.

"... Just like the last three options on the basic rules." Michael coolly noted, joining the others on the floor.

"... Yeah, Leo already got that." Daniel stated in a flat voice.

"Is that so?" Michael looked at him, simply. "Well, in that case, let's talk about-"

"Hey!" Leo looked at his Phone in interest, and called for everyone's attention. "Look... There's a new option on the main menu..." Leo waved his Phone around for everyone to see.

[_1\. Contacts_  
_2\. Noise Report_  
_3\. Storage_  
_4\. Armoury_  
_5\. Missions_  
_6\. Tin Pin_  
_7\. Media_  
_8\. Player State_  
_9\. Map_  
_0\. Drop_]

"... 'Drop'..." Daniel looked back on his phone, and sure enough, there it was.

'Drop'.

* * *

_Beep, beep..._  
_Beep, beep..._  
_Beep, beep..._

"God, always that same beeping noise... Could they _not_?" Camila flicked her dyed-blue, long, wavy hair back, and rolled her eyes.

Leo waited for Coco to answer his call.  
Michael said nothing.  
Daniel tried his best to ignore her.  
Reagan lightly chewed on her braid.  
Angelo gave out another magnificent snore, and again, fell quiet.

Leo had planned to ask his Phone what 'Drop' meant, but Reagan pointed out that it was a good opportunity to try contacting Coco, instead.  
Nobody spoke; the beeping of Leo's Phone, and the distant chatter of other Players in the Building were the only sounds that filled the air.  
About ten seconds of ringing had passed, when Reagan let her braid fall out of her mouth, and turned to Daniel.

"... The Phone said to... Channel Soul into it, to contact her... Right?"  
Daniel, who was staring off into the distance, snapped out of whatever daydream he had been in, and gave her a quizzical look.

"Uh... Yeah...? You saw it; you can read."

"W-... Well," Reagan ran a hand along her braid, and tried to think of something to justify herself with, "you have a really good memory; you remembered the first Puzzle perfectly... Right?" She added, looking to Leo for support.

"Why are you asking me...?" Leo looked right back at her, confused.  
Before Reagan could think of a response, Camila clapped her hands together, and spoke.

"Right! So, what are we going to do tomorrow?" As she spoke, she moved her hair behind her left ear; Leo noticed a rose tattoo on the back of her left hand, and a crescent moon tattoo to the left of her eye.

"What are '_we_' going to do...?" Daniel repeated. "What's with the 'we'?"

"What's _with_ the 'we'?" She asked, simply.

"... I think he's asking why you're assuming they'll accept us as part of their alliance."  
Michael suggested.

"... Yes, I got that; thank you, Michael." Camila sighed.

"What's up with Mr. Spock?" Anjelo inquired.

"His Entry Fee; they took away his ability to... Feel. Like, emotion." Camila explained, while Michael looked at her, blankly.  
Everyone fell silent.

"So... Emotional capacity?" Reagan asked her. "That explains why he's so... Straightforward..."  
Just as she finished her sentence...

"Who _asked_ you...?!" Camila crossed her arms, and gave her a wide-eyed, threatening look.

"... Right..." Reagan didn't bother arguing; she didn't have the energy for it.

"Don't worry." Michael held up both his arms, maintaining his eerily neutral expression. "I don't feel bad at all, I just... Well, I feel normal, honestly."

"How can you 'feel' normal?" Daniel scratched his forehead, and started to stand up.

"Well," Michael turned to him, "I see your point, but I _feel_ that nitpicking about my usage of words won't help."  
Somehow, the silence hanging over them got even... 'Silent-er'.  
If that's a word.  
"You see?" Michael looked around, expectantly. "I used the word 'feel'. Even though I don't." Daniel and Leo recoiled as Michael attempted to put on a smile, at least, something that could barely be interpreted as a smile, and not as a predatory grimace.  
"... It's a joke." Michael dropped his 'smile', and looked around, again.  
Nothing.

_Beep, beep..._  
_Beep, beep..._  
_Beep, beep..._

"... So, Leo. Do you know what you're doing?" Not the least bit embarrassed, Michael turned to questioning Leo.

"... I'm pretty sure..." Leo began, but the Phone suddenly stopped beeping.

"... _Insufficient Soul. Call Failed._" The Phone's robotic voice stated, simply.

"... I don't think you know what you're doing." Michael continued.

_What...?_  
Leo stared at his screen, wondering why the call had failed.

"'Insufficient Soul', huh?" Reagan repeated, thinking to herself.

"She said to 'Imagine' the Psychs, right?"

"_Whoa!_" Daniel yelled out in surprise; Anjelo had crept up behind him. "... What the hell..."

"Maybe..." Anjelo continued, unperturbed by Daniel's reaction. "'Soul' is different from 'Imagination'..."

"Hm..." Leo thought about it; he had pictured the call going through, with all of his might; it was so vivid, it could have already happened; maybe he had just forgotten.  
And now, thinking about trying to force a phone call to work with his mind, he realised how absurd his goal was.

"Well we can't get anything done by sitting here, doing nothing." Camila clapped her hands again, drawing an 'ugh' from Daniel. "Let's try hitting 'Drop'!" She flamboyantly drew her Phone out from a pouch on her belt.

"Wait-" Leo tried to stop her.

"Oh, your Phone's black, too!" Camila squealed, uncharacteristically giddy. "That makes three of us; Michael's Phone is also black." She waved her hands at Michael, who silently held his Phone up.

"... Great, so anyway-"

"Mine's blue!" Leo was stopped again, this time by Anjelo.

"Ooh, that's a lovely blue...!" Camila stared at Anjelo's Phone.

"Why are you-"

"Orange." Daniel waved his Phone around.

"_Why...?!_" Leo demanded.

"What?" Daniel shrugged. "She was probably going to ask me next."

"Mnnghh..." Leo held his temples, trying to ignore the growing pain in his head.

"Green..." Reagan stared at the ceiling, and muttered, even though she knew that Camila would just ignore her.

_Beep, beep_

"_7 Minutes since Full-Mission Completion. Forced Drop in 5... 4..._"

"Whoa, whoa, what?" Leo's hand flew away from his face, and his eyes went to his screen.

[_Drop in... 3..._]

As he stared, the voice continued, and the number decreased...

[_Drop in... 2..._]

"It's fine!" Daniel quickly pointed to the other Players in the vicinity. "They must have Dropped early, and they look fine! We'll be fine!"

[_Drop in... 1..._]

"What..." Leo only now noticed that the other Players had fallen asleep; not only that... "They're... Floating...?"

[_Drop_]

The word blinked three times on the screen, and Leo felt his consciousness begin to slip away from him...

* * *

"That turned out nicely..." High up, looking down to the ground from the rooftop of the 104 Building, a young man dressed in a navy blue hoodie and jeans snickered, and flapped his small, black wings.  
The mark of a Reaper.

"'Nicely'?" A female voice sounded out from behind him. "Is that what you'd call it?"

"'f course...!" The man, without turning around, shook his head in pretend disapproval. "Four Players Erased, and '四' is-"

"Yes, yes," the woman sighed, "'四' is '死', very clever."

"It is, though!" He finally turned to face her, jabbing his finger in confidence.  
... But she was no longer there.

"... You are _such_ a child..." She shook her head in real disapproval, materialising behind him.

"Hah," he chuckled, "and what of you, 'Black Cat'?" He whipped around for a full 360, "ahah!"  
Not there.

"What _of_ me?" She asked, somehow having gotten behind him, again.

"I might be a tough Game Master, but you..." He trembled slightly, in excitement. "... You're _brutal_." He turned around again, faster, this time.  
No luck.

"Well..." Once again behind him, she paused. "... I suppose I can't argue with that."

"That one Player... Nelliel Reagan... She reminds me of you." He let out a breath of exasperation, not bothering to turn around, again. "If you ever become her Game Master-"

"Oh, it would be rather entertaining, I think." She laughed, for the first time, "but... Her Entry Fee would make things significantly less interesting; her Partner's, as well. The only reason they haven't been Erased is because of the Marked Boy, and his Partner."

"Ah, yes... Parker." The man pulled his hood over his head, and smirked. "I was thinking about greeting him..."

"... Don't overdo it." She muttered. "Between you and me... The current Composer's gotten a bit dull."

"Well, this is a first...!" He turned around for the last time, looking her directly in the eye; a woman, clad in black, her face half-hidden by her long hair, swirling in the wind, along with the long scarf that was draped around her neck, concealing her mouth. "The Black Cat is sounding _particularly_ rebellious today..." He grinned.

"Hmph," she stepped backwards, towards the edge of the rooftop, "say what you will, but I'd save the 'cleverness' for the Players..." Reaching the edge, her foot found empty air... And she tumbled off.  
Out of sight.  
"... Isshin Genkata." Her voice echoed quietly.  
Genkata immediately dashed forward, and looked over the edge.  
Of course, she was nowhere to be seen.

"... I need to find out how she does that."

* * *

"... Nngh..." Leo stirred; he could faintly hear the sound of people talking nearby; he tried moving, but it was too much of an effort; he just wanted to sleep...

"He-... -e mo-... -d...!"

"Oh... -ally?"

"-eo... Leo...!"

{_That dress looks super cute! I wonder if-_}

{_\- if Eri's having trouble, she's running late-_}

{_\- late! How can I be running late on my first day? The boss is gonna kill-_}

{_\- killjoy, it was _totally_ 50% off-_}

Leo's eyes snapped open, as a sea of voices assaulted his mind.

"_Arrrggghhh...!_" Leo clamped both hands over his ears, in an attempt to stop the voices.  
No such luck; it was as if the voices were already inside his head.

"He's Scanning!" Leo managed to make out Reagan's shouting.

"Leo, it's a Psych! Just calm down!" Daniel yelled at him.

"Rrgh... _Gngh...!_" When the Noise attacked had attacked Leo, he was certain that nothing could be more piercing than the wail that they had given off.  
But this was much worse.

"Focus!" Anjelo commanded him; his shockingly serious manner froze everyone, for a moment. "Tune it out, Leo!"  
Leo was vaguely becoming aware that he was floating above the floor, immersed in a translucent, cyan sphere of light, when his Player Pin shot out of his pocket, and flew in front of his face; forcing himself to move, he grabbed the Pin out of the air, and concentrated...  
Just like that, the voices stopped, the light disappeared, and Leo felt himself hit the ground.

"Ugh..." Leo shakily pushed himself up, his head throbbing.

_Clack_

Leo's Phone fell out of his pocket, and hit the floor.

_Oh, no..._ Leo immediately moved to snatch it up...  
"... Huh?"

[Main Mission _Puzzle I_ Cleared.  
Time Retrieved: _13 Seconds_.  
Bonus Time: _1 Second_.  
Total Time Reward: _00:00:14_]

_... Since when has that been there...?_  
Before Leo could pursue that line of thought, Daniel grabbed the Phone, and showed Leo his own.

"Come on, we don't have time to lie around!"  
Leo still groggy from his rude awakening, dragged his gaze to Daniel's screen...

[_Puzzle II:_  
_Conquer the 3 Cubed Cubes Cube upon the BeeChild,_  
_Then possess for 81 seconds; beware: The Bee is wild._]

_TimeLimit 20 Minutes._

* * *

**[VI. The real-life equivalent of the '104 Building' is the '109 Building'.]**

* * *

**Kingdom Hearts 3D, huehuehue XD**  
**So, this chapter was kind of short...?**  
**Sorry...!?**  
**X'D**

**I am trying, I am tryyying :'P**

**I hope you enjoyed the chapter; if you did, kindly take the time to review, or... Something? c:**

**Later!**  
**-X**

* * *

_Preview of _Chapter VII – Third Time's the Charm_:_

_Suddenly, before the Reaper could even blink, Daniel charged forward._

_"_Shockwave!_" Daniel's Psych hit Genkata dead-on, expelling a fierce wind away from the pair; causing Genkata to cry out and stumble back._

_"Daniel! What're you…!" Leo started to shout, but stopped, realizing that Genkata was completely unscathed._

_"… Wow…!" Genkata smirked, and nonchalantly dusted the front of his hoodie off; making it very clear that Daniel's attack had not affected him in the slightest. "That had a kick to it… For a Level 2 Psych."  
Daniel froze momentarily, then leapt back in disbelief._

_"… How did you do that?" Anjelo asked in a low voice._

_"Psychs are only as powerful as you want them to be." Genkata stated simply, shrugging. "Your Soul, your Imagination… If these things aren't strong enough, then the Psych will be just as weak." He laughed, yet again. "And since defensive strength is centred around the strength of one's Soul, there's no way-"_

_"_Quake!_" Anjelo lashed out, sending a stream of rubble and debris flying into Genkata.  
Just as before, it appeared to have no effect; the rocks and gravel fizzled, and dropped onto the ground, leaving Genkata exactly where he was._

_"… That you newbies can damage me: A Game Master." Genkata finished; his expression smug._

_2:44…  
2:43…  
2:42…_


	7. Chapter VII - Third Time's the Charm

…

…

…

… **Oh- OH. **_**OH.**_

…

**I'm still alive. Huh.**

…

**Look at that.**

* * *

**[VII. Reagan's thoughts can be organized into three separate 'subjects'.]**

* * *

**Chapter VII – Third Time's the Charm**

_'BeeChild'...!?_

"Get up!" Daniel attempted to lift Leo off of the ground, only succeeding when Leo used a free hand to push himself up.

"... What the hell is a 'BeeChild'?" Leo managed to ask, after he had gotten to his feet. "And... Wait-" he spun around, "where are we?"  
The four Players had 'Dropped' inside the 104 Lobby, but as Leo looked around, he realised that they were in some sort of department store.

"Camila said that it was Mus Rattus, or… Something." Anjelo raised his arms and pointed out. "Buuut as you can see... She's left. Along with Michael."

"And as for 'BeeChild'..." Reagan continued, "... Daniel figured that one out." Reagan gestured behind her, to an innumerable amount of shelves, each shelf lined with the same product: 'The always-popular Shibuya Baby Bee Doll is now 10% off!'

"... I'd hope that anyone would figure it out, upon seeing... This." Leo attempted to take in the incredible number of dolls that lay before him.

"Ah... Yeah..." Reagan looked to the side.

"Look," Daniel pointed to the closest of the 'Baby Bee Doll' boxes, "some of 'em have dice on top of 'em."

"... Right...?" Leo looked at him, uncertainly.

"And some..." Daniel moved his finger to the right, "... Have crates on 'em; inside, there were a bunch of puzzle pieces."

"Ah..." Leo looked at Anjelo and Reagan, starting to understand what Daniel was getting at.

"I think one had a puzzle box on it..." Daniel exhaled; it appeared that he had been investigating for a while, before Leo had awoken.

"I get it... So..." Leo stretched his arms, and wondered where he should start, "... We have to 'conquer' a certain 'cube', that's on one of these 'BeeChild' dolls..."

"The '3 Cubed Cubes Cube'." Anjelo drew out each syllable, seemingly enjoying the name. Daniel nodded, and jogged back into the shelves.

"So... Hey," Leo turned back, before he got started, "how long was I out? Were you all searching before I woke up?" Leo's voice had a slightly apologetic tone to it.  
Anjelo and Reagan looked at each other.

"Oh... Yes, we were..." Anjelo looked down, and laughed, while Reagan merely sighed.  
Leo raised an eyebrow, and looked down to his left hand...

"... What...?"

_14:26..._  
_14:25..._  
_14:24..._

"... The original TimeLimit was 20 Minutes... But you took... A little longer to wake up." Reagan scratched her head, and got back to searching.

_14:17..._  
_14:16..._  
_14:15..._

* * *

A puzzle box containing a red and black Player Pin replica, that could be unlocked by sliding moveable, carved sections around. Solved by Reagan, in 2 Minutes.  
The Timer didn't stop.  
A Rubik's Cube with different Noise Symbols on each side, instead of colours. Solved by Daniel, in 6 Minutes.  
The Timer didn't stop.  
A crate with 3D Tetris pieces inside, that had to be arranged to form a perfect cube. Solved by Anjelo, in 4 Minutes.  
The Timer didn't stop.  
Three dice with Reaper Skull Sigils, for ones, along a paper that challenged Leo to roll '3' on each die at the same time. 'Solved' by Leo, in 7 Minutes.  
The Timer didn't stop.

_7:11..._  
_7:10..._  
_7:09..._

"Hey..." Leo huffed, reaching for another 'puzzle', "anyone figure out '3 Cubed Cubes Cube'...?"

"Depends..." Reagan glanced at her Timer, before continuing, "... '3 Cubed' is 9 by 9 by 9… That's 27."

"I thought '27 Cubes Cube' was a 'Cube made of 27 Individual Cubes'..." Daniel wheezed, and ran to the far end of the aisle, to find something else to solve.

"In other words… A 'Rubik's Cube'. Right?" Anjelo joined in the casual talk, as if it could help.

"Yeah, but," Daniel surveyed the store; other Players looked similarly desperate, "I found one and solved it, but..." Leo momentarily shifted his gaze to Daniel, "... Nothin'..."

"Oh, you know how to solve a Rubik's Cube? Bravo, Dunkerman...!" Anjelo ran his hands over the doll boxes, searching for a puzzle yet to be solved.

"... Why's the store empty, apart from the Players...?" Daniel wondered aloud, completely ignoring Anjelo.

_6:58…_  
_6:57…_  
_6:56…_

"Uh…" Reagan glanced at her Timer again. If they failed the Mission, they would incur a penalty, but according to the 'Basic Rules', they wouldn't necessarily be Erased on the spot; nevertheless, there was no point in giving up. Was there? "I think… There's some sort of fiesta outside," she answered Daniel, "I can barely make out some sort of-"

"_Ah…!_" Daniel yelled, freezing everyone in place; following this, he threw the doll box he was holding at the wall in anger. "That's Hachi-Fest!"

"… You mean the festival for that dog statue?" Reagan looked at him. "What, you don't like… Dogs?"

"No! It's-"

"Dunkerman, you hafta lighten up." Anjelo started to laugh.

"Shut it!" Daniel turned on Anjelo, but his next words were for everybody. "'Hachi-Ko'! 'Hachi' means 'Bee', and 'Ko' means 'Child'!"  
Anjelo stopped laughing.

"… You're kidding me." Leo re-read the Mission Mail.

[_Solve the 3 Cubed Cubes Cube upon the BeeChild._]

"… It wasn't 'solve the Rubik's Cube found on the BeeChild doll'…" Leo was about to ask Daniel where he had placed the cube, before he saw Reagan holding it; it had seemingly re-scrambled itself.

"'Solve the Rubik's Cube, _whilst upon Hachiko_'." Reagan said, and then motioned with her hand, for them to follow.

"Let's get a move on, Daniel…!" Anjelo said, already pushing Leo.

_6:32…_  
_6:31…_  
_6:30…_

* * *

"Five minutes! Come on, come on, come on!" Anjelo continued to push Leo all the way past Scramble Crossing, almost causing Leo to trip on something, or crash into something along the way.

"What are you _doing?!_" Leo protested.

"If you're payin' attention, then you'll be fine!" Anjelo insisted, keeping a firm grip on Leo, so as not to let him get away.

"Get… Off…!" Leo continued to thrash around, but to no avail; Anjelo refused to release him.

"There…!" Daniel dropped to one knee, exhausted. "There's Hachiko!"  
Leo took his attention away from Anjelo, and spotted the Statue of Hachiko, barely visible through a swarm of festive citizens.

"Hachi! Please, bless me next!"

"Eri! I touched him!"

"Ugh, my hand slipped! Hope I didn't mess that up..."

"… On it!" Reagan looked around for a moment, then sprinted straight through the crowd- _literally_ straight through, anyone who got in her way.

"You've got 4 Minutes 40, Raegen!" Anjelo alerted her, using the nickname that Coco had given her. "Be swift, like lightning! No pressure."

"…"

"…"  
Leo and Daniel both stopped, and turned to examine Anjelo's face, not sure if he was joking around or not.

"… Are you staring at _me_?" Anjelo chuckled. "You're staring at me, aren't you?"

"No," Daniel instantly replied, sarcastically, "I was staring at the guy behind you- wait, what the hell…?" He broke off, upon realizing that there was, unexpectedly, a lightly-tanned young man that seemed to be watching them from a ways away. He was dressed in relatively simple attire consisting of a blue hoodie, and a pair of denim jeans with aesthetic tears around the knees, shins, and sides; his face, which appeared Middle-Eastern, bore a small goatee, and his short hair was cropped on either side of his head, leaving a noticeably thicker 'strip' down the centre of his scalp.

"'sup guys." he greeted them, far too casually. "you don't seem to be doing so well, Marked Boy." He addressed Leo.

"… 'Marked Boy'…?" Leo replied, uncertainly.

"That's you." He said simply, pulling out what appeared to be a Re:Phone. "… 4 Minutes and 26 Seconds left. You'd better hurry it up." He grinned after glancing the screen.

"You a Player?" Daniel asked the question, even though he felt like he knew the answer.

"I don't think he has a Timer…" Anjelo finally removed his hands from Leo, and faced the mysterious man, cautiously.

"You can tell, from here?" Leo's eyes flicked from Anjelo, to the man's hands, and then back to Anjelo.

"… I don't hear any ticking from him. Do you?" He said with a curt, try-thinking-outside-of-the-box tone.

"Hey." Daniel stood up deliberately and spoke again, with more force this time. "Don't ignore me. Are you a Player?" As he asked him, he brought out a Shockwave Pin, feeling a sense of danger. The man slipped his Phone into the pocket of his hoodie, and swept a hand through his hair.

"… Nope." He said, confirming Daniel's worries. "I'm not a Player."

"A Reaper, then." Leo began to step forward, but found himself stopped by some invisible force.  
_!... What's this… Feeling?_ Leo clutched at his chest with one hand. _I've felt this before, from Katy…!_  
One look at Daniel and Anjelo told Leo that they could feel it too.

"Yeah, but not just _any_ Reaper…" The man grinned again, this time he took a step forward, and the strange sensation hit the three Players, heavier.

_It's almost like…_

"I'm Isshin Genkata, but you can call me the 'Prince of Persia', got it?" He laughed at his own joke.  
The three Players instinctively jumped back, as they felt another wave of the invisible force hit them. "I'm the Game Master this week. Nice to meet you."

… _It's almost like his spirit is crushing me._

_4:31…_  
_4:30…_  
_4:29…_

* * *

_Gotcha!_  
Reagan swung herself up onto Hachiko's podium, comfortable in the knowledge that no-one could see, or touch her.

"Let's get to it, then…" She twirled the cube on her finger for a second, memorizing the different symbols on each side.

_Click_  
_Click-Click_  
_Cli- Click_

_4:29…_  
_4:28…_  
_4:27…_

Reagan managed to finish a side within a matter of seconds, granted, it was already mostly completed; hoping that she could figure the whole thing out before her time was up, she called for her Partner. "Mihael-" she was about to raise her head, when…

"Grr…"

… _What's that…?_ Reagan froze temporarily, her eyes darting around for the growl's source.

"_GRR…!_"  
Before Reagan had time to move, she felt herself falling to the ground.

"_Agh…!_" She landed heavily, having not expected to fall off Hachiko like that.  
'Fall'? Well, that's not entirely accurate… "… What in the…?!" Reagan watched from the hard, stone ground, as the Statue of Hachiko jumped off of its pedestal; its surface started to develop the same patterns that she had seen on… "Noise…!" She gasped.  
The Hachiko Noise, apparently imperceptible to the people of the RealGround, sunk low and prepared to pounce.

_4:24…_  
_4:23…_  
_4:22…_

* * *

_Sssksshh…!_

Leo slid back as he dispatched the third Noise Symbol that Genkata had sent at him, putting some distance between Genkata and himself.

"He's just toying with us…" Anjelo noted, fiddling with his Quake Pin. "Just make sure you don't touch it, Leo." He reminded him.

"Yeah…" Leo nodded, catching his breath. _So…_ He thought to himself. _I guess he's the 'source' of the Noise…?_

"Aren't you, like…" Daniel drew in a deep breath, and shook his head, catching Leo's attention. "Aren't you the boss? Shouldn't you… I dunno, hang back until the last Day?"

"Well, I'm _supposed_ to, actually." Genkata stroked his chin, contemplating summoning a few more Noise. "… But I wanted to see _you_, Marked Boy." He pointed at Leo.

"You keep saying that I'm 'Marked', what do you mean?" Leo cut in, slightly frustrated at his own ignorance.

"Oh, wow," Genkata held a hand to his forehead, amused, "you don't even _know?_"  
Leo merely waited for a proper answer, his eyebrow twitching in irritation. "Well, I guess I can… Give you a hint," he took his hand away from his forehead, "what's the maximum amount of Days given to a Player?"

"… Twelve, right?" Leo replied uncertainly, but immediately after, he realized what Genkata was getting at. "Oh…!"

"Exactly," Genkata shook his head, dissatisfied with Leo, "right now, you have…" He paused, glancing at his Phone's screen, and ran some numbers through his head. "… You have 4:19 on your Mission Timer, and 12:22:28:35 on your Existence Timer." Genkata tilted his head forward, as if saying 'understand?'

_That's right… I didn't even think about it…_ Leo brought his right hand up, confirming Genkata's statement; his brow furrowed in a mixture of confusion and anxiety, as he attempted to understand what was happening, and not only 'what', but 'why'.  
_I started with… Thirteen Days…?_

"When a Player is initiated into the Game, they are assigned 'X Days'; that is… A random number of Days, from 1 to 12." Genkata elaborated, gesticulating with one hand. "… But not you. It was decided that you would receive, and not by chance," he added, "an 'illegal' number of Days to Exist." shrugging, either not worried, or not caring about whether or not Leo was taking in everything he was saying, Genkata summed up his point.  
"You, Leo Parker… Are the Marked Player."

_4:07…_  
_4:06…_  
_4:05…_

* * *

_I suppose this is what the Mission meant by 'The Bee is Wild': '_Hachi_ is Wild'._  
_Typical._  
Reagan cricked her neck in irritation at yet another of Genkata's tricks, and leapt back onto the Hachiko Noise, wrapping an arm around its granite head, in an effort to prevent being bucked off of its back, again.  
_I'm not getting very far…_ She spared a second to think, not daring to take any more of her attention off of the Hachiko Noise.

_3:58…_  
_3:57…_  
_3:56…_

Reagan considered the current situation's three issues:  
_One: I need to solve the cube._  
_Two: I need to stop the Hachiko Noise from throwing me off._  
_Three…_ She thought to herself, slightly irritated … _The other's aren't helping me. Why's that…?_  
Reagan tightened her grip, as the Hachiko Noise began to thrash around faster; calming herself, she closed her eyes, and breathed…  
_Just… Think about it logically… No unnecessary thoughts…_  
The world blinked, and swarm of thoughts raged through her mind.

**_\- time without fail; when I'm thrown off, the cube resets itself; I _can_-_**

_\- assume that the others are dealing with something else, otherwise they would-_

**_ \- use both hands; hold on properly, but it'd-_**

_\- help; can't waste a second - _

_\- waiting for the right moment… But then again, I _could_-_

**_\- be difficult; I need to solve the cube at the same time... It's a good thing that I'm not-_**

_\- looking; no time to-_

_\- use _that_… No harm trying-_

**_ \- being burned by this one-_**

_\- since the other Noise were susceptible it; I have just enough time to -_

_\- waste- _

**_\- otherwise, I might've given up a lot earlier… But I won't, now. I won't-_**

_\- do it._

Reagan's eyes snapped open, as she momentarily released Hachiko; her left hand dove into her pocket for the Thunderbolt Pin, whilst her right hand continued to keep a firm hold on the Rubik's Cube

"Let's see if this works…!" Reagan wound back…

_Crackle…!_

"_Thunderbolt!_"

… And struck the Hachiko Noise's neck full-on, with her left palm. Light flashed like that from a thunderstorm, as she ran the Psych through the Hachiko Noise.

"_GRAAOOOHHHH!_" The Hachiko Noise roared, recoiling from the bright green spikes attacking it.

_A concept of the OverAssist Gear is stimulating muscles with electricity to enhance performance, and increase speed…_ Reagan recalled dashing forward to grab Leo. _Maybe I can emulate that with the Thunderbolt Pin!_  
Reagan increased the output of her Thunderbolt Psych; her left hand kept the Hachiko Noise from moving, while her right hand, now bursting with energy, started another attempt on the cube.

_3:46…_  
_3:45…_  
_3:44…_

* * *

"Nel…!" Out of the corner of his eye, Leo noticed that Reagan was locked in a struggle with the Statue of Hachiko, which, inexplicably, seemed to have animated itself.  
Just as he turned to run to her, he felt a sudden, sharp pain on his face.

"Pay attention." Anjelo, who had delivered a sharp slap to Leo's cheek, calmly advised him. "You think I haven't thought about helping her? If let our guard down around this guy… He could probably Erase us on the spot."

"Ah well, I _could,_" Genkata agreed, casually; his tone carrying a trace of slight disappointment, "but y'see, it's like the sporty guy said; I'm actually not even '_supposed_' to show myself until Day 7… Tradition, y'know." Pausing to scratch his head, Genkata yawned and stowed his Phone back in his pocket, "… And even though I don't care about _that_ little custom; by rule, Reapers can't directly attack Players, anyway. Yet."

"'Yet', huh…?" Daniel repeated; he thought about asking Genkata exactly what he meant, but someone else spoke first.

"Wait." Leo, bringing his mind back to what was happening before he noticed Reagan. "I'm 'Marked', you said; I have Thirteen Days. Why do I have an illegal Day-count? Is it because I'm Marked? Or am I Marked _because_ I'm breaking the rules?"  
_Come to think of it…_ Leo noted, internally. _The guy in the hood said something about that, too…_  
Genkata considered Leo for a moment, but then chuckled.

"Right… I… Honestly forgot how little you know, for moment. Sorry." He added, still laughing; Leo gritted his teeth. "But more importantly…" Genkata pointed at Reagan. "You've got about three minutes left. "Shouldn't you be helping her?"  
Suddenly, before the Reaper could even blink, Daniel charged forward.

"_Shockwave!_" Daniel's Psych hit Genkata dead-on, expelling a fierce wind away from the pair; causing Genkata to cry out and stumble back.

"Daniel! What're you…!" Leo started to shout, but stopped, realizing that Genkata was completely unscathed.

"… Wow…!" Genkata smirked, and nonchalantly dusted the front of his hoodie off; making it very clear that Daniel's attack had not affected him in the slightest. "That had a kick to it… For a Level 2 Psych."  
Daniel froze momentarily, then leapt back in disbelief.

"… How did you do that?" Anjelo asked in a low voice.

"Psychs are only as powerful as you want them to be." Genkata stated simply, shrugging. "Your Soul, your Imagination… If these things aren't strong enough, then the Psych will be just as weak." He laughed, yet again. "And since defensive strength is centred around the strength of one's Soul, there's no way-"

"_Quake!_" Anjelo lashed out, sending a stream of rubble and debris flying into Genkata.  
Just as before, it appeared to have no effect; the rocks and gravel fizzled and dropped onto the ground, leaving Genkata exactly where he was.

"… That you newbies can damage me: A Game Master." Genkata finished; his expression turned smug, and his eyes momentarily flashed with a golden colour.

_2:44…_  
_2:43…_  
_2:42…_

* * *

The Statue of Hachiko reared its head back and howled, a piercing, thunderous wail screamed through the sky; answering its call, a pack of Noise materialized, ready to attack.

_Uh-Oh…_ Nelliel almost lost her grip on Hachiko's stony neck, upon spotting several new threats. _That's not good… I'm only 94% through…!_  
To make matters worse, the Hachiko Noise seemed to be developing a resistance to the Thunderbolt Psych. _Wait…_ Nelliel gaped; having accidently cast her gaze back in the direction of the Scramble, she saw her three fellow Players, all staring down a newcomer in a hoodie. _What's happening over there…?_

_Crack_

Unnoticed by Reagan, a tiny fracture started to form on the surface of the possessed Statue of Hachiko...

* * *

"…Guys," Daniel whispered to Leo and Angelo, "I have a plan…"

"Hm?" Genkata cocked his head sideways. "What're you guys whispering about, over there?" After a second or so, it was apparent that he was, to be blunt, being ignored; with that in mind, Genkata drew a Pin out from his pocket, similar to a Player Pin, the only difference being that the skull resembled that of an animal, perhaps a bird's, rather than a human's. "… Ruuude…" He sang playfully, preparing to summon another Noise…

"I'm out!" Anjelo announced loudly, throwing his arms up in the air, and catching Genkata off-guard; following this, he pivoted on his heel, and sprinted in the opposite direction, away from the Reaper and the two Players.

"Hey- what the hell!" Daniel stumbled as he turned, and shouted at a fleeing Anjelo.

"Mihael!? Wh- What are you…!" Leo turned his back to Genkata, who looked on, dumbfounded, as he called after Anjelo.

"… Uh…" Frozen in place, Genkata slowly began to lower his Pin-wielding arm; he had never seen anything quite like this, after all. "… Wow. Honestly, I…" He started to laugh, "I didn't expect any of you to freaking… _Run_ so fast-"

"_Pyrokinetics!_" Leo bellowed as he whipped back around, slashing his arm through the air, at Genkata, with all his strength. The air immediately in front of Genkata seemed to ripple for a split-second, as if distorted by heat; Genkata had just enough time for his mouth to open in surprise, before-

_BOOM!_

A flash of white light seared Leo's eyes, and a deafening explosion shook his core. The blast had ignited several times more powerfully than the last time he had tried; anything caught by such an attack unawares would be annihilated in the blink of an eye, surely…

_Cough… Cough…!_

… Perhaps not.

Leo stepped back in shock, upon hearing a cough from inside the plume of smoke; even Leo's surprise attack, (indeed, Daniel's plan was for Anjelo to distract Genkata by running,) hadn't taken Genkata out.

"That… That one hurt a bit…" Genkata stepped out, still coughing; his clothes and hair were singed from the Psych. "… Where the hell'd you get a Level 3 Pin…?" He mused, quickly recovering his composure.

"… It's fine, Leo." Daniel reassured him, preparing to use his _Shockwave_ again, if necessary. "The plan also means that Anjelo can go an' help Nel, which means…" Daniel brought his Mission Timer up.

_2:27…_  
_2:26…_  
_…_  
_2:26_

Daniel grinned as the Timer stopped. "… Mission Complete."  
Leo's Phone beeped; wary of Genkata retaliating, Leo brought it out, and stole a glance at the screen.

[Main Mission _Puzzle II_ Cleared.  
Time Retrieved: _146 Seconds_.  
Bonus Time: _18 Seconds_.  
Total Time Reward: _00:02:34_]

Leo's Existence Timer paused, flashing at _12:22:27:28_, before rising to _12:22:30:02_, like a clock being rewound.  
Similarly, Daniel's Existence Timer soon found itself back at _09:22:30:02_.

"…" Genkata stared at the two, deciding what course of action to take. Technically, he could still attack them; the Day wasn't yet over, even though the Mission was. After five seconds of silence, Genkata made his decision: His hand went to his pocket, and began to draw out a Pin-

"_Thunderbolt!_" Reagan dashed in and slammed her palm into Genkata's chest, electrocuting him, and sending him flying backwards.

"_Gah…!_" Genkata's eyes widened in surprise; if this was the RG, he would certainly be coughing out blood.

"_Haahhh!_" Still in midair, Reagan wound back; a mass of electricity gathered around her hand. "_Come on!_" She yelled, both at Genkata, and to Anjelo, (who had followed her,) Leo, and Daniel.

"… Right!" Leo, who was slightly taken aback by Reagan's rather ferocious sneak attack, readied his own attack. "_Pyrokinetics!_"

"_Quake!_"

"_Shockwave!_"

Reagan threw what could best be described as a cluster of lightning at Genkata's prone form, eliciting a large surge of her trademark bright, neon sparks around Genkata; next came Leo's _Pyrokinetics_, a burst of flame exploded into Existence, consuming Genkata in a fiery inferno of fire and smoke; Anjelo and Daniel provided support by raining down a storm of debris and wind.  
Through the unbelievably devastating assault, Leo couldn't help but feel a little sorry for Genkata, but then remembered how his most powerful attack had 'hurt him a bit'.

"One more!" Reagan roared, raising her arm up for another _Thunderbolt_…

"That's enough." A hand grabbed onto Reagan's wrist from behind.

"What?! Don't stop, he's-" Reagan turned around to berate whoever had grabbed her, only to be stop in astonishment; the one who had stopped her, was none other than Isshin Genkata. "_Ah…!_" Reagan recoiled, and freed her arm from Genkata's grasp, before retreating several metres.

"… Look, your Mission's over. You're done. You did well, and all that…" Genkata waved his hand through the air, as if dismissing the fact that he had just walked- no, he had apparently managed to escape their attacks without being noticed, _and_ sneak up behind Reagan without anyone noticing.  
To make matters worse, he seemed to have been injured even _less_ by their Psychs than before; if anything, he and his clothes somehow looked brand-new. "I was just going to give you this, Marked Boy." Genkata threw the Pin from earlier over his shoulder; Leo managed to catch it, despite his bewildered state of mind.

"… 'Marked Boy'…?" Reagan asked, her face still showing her sheer disbelief. "What's that?"

"Ugh…" Genkata held his forehead, as if experiencing a minor headache. "No. Sorry. I'm not telling the story again. I'm leaving." He turned, and started to walk away, as the four Players continued to stare in incredulity. "Y'know…" He stopped, to say one more thing. "I'm surprised no-one's pointed out the Sigil on you, yet." He said, simply, to Leo, who felt his heart skip a beat.

"… The _what_ on me…?!" He took a step back.

"… Do you all see the Reapers' Sigil on your Re:Phone's backgrounds?" Genkata sighed. After a few seconds, Daniel turned his Phone on, and this time, looked past the menu options.

"… Yeah… I didn't see it before, with all the buttons, but… It's a skull and… An 'X'…?"

"Crossbones." Genkata supplied with a smirk. "It's a skull and crossbones."

"Yeah… The same skull on our Player Pins, and…" Daniel stopped, as he did a double take, almost dropping his Phone. "Why-…?!" His head snapped to the left, to look at Leo. "You mean that's…!"

"Wh- _What? What is it?_" Leo looked at everyone's faces; Daniel and Reagan were staring at him, looking even more shocked than they were at Genkata's recovery. Genkata had his usual look of amusement about him, but most strangely… Anjelo almost seemed to be confused, as if he had no idea what everyone else was talking about.

"Y-… Your back, Leo… I just thought it was part of your hoodie…" Reagan stuttered.

"My… what?!" Leo looked around the area, before noticing that the nearby Shibukyu Stationside had a row of tall windows installed. Leo scrambled over to them, and turned around, using the windows in a mirror. "… What the hell is this…?!" Leo stared at the back of his hoodie.

Marked on his back, as if painted, or even sewn in with white, was a big, unmistakable 'X'.  
The Sigil of the Reapers' Crossbones.  
Leo was the Marked Player.

* * *

**[VIII. If it isn't clear by now, Genkata is part Persian. Half, to be precise. Just putting it out there.]**

* * *

**I hear those cries of, "Mary Sue!" ('**_**Marty**_** Stu'?) From you, buuut Genkata **_**did**_** state that Leo's attack 'hurt him a bit'. And anyway, there are good reasons to his high vitality. Not all of which you know.**  
**Bear with me, please XD**

**I'm sorry this took so long; I've had a lot of stuff to deal with.**  
**For example, I write books professionally, now! :D**  
**None have been published yet, but that's probably because… None are finished yet…**  
**…**  
**Seems logical, to me…**

**I write much more professionally when I write books; indents, proper paragraphing, and such.**  
**But I don't want to change my writing style for **_**X Days**_** so abruptly, so… I'll be sticking with this for a while :P**

**However!**

**I will be writing more 'professionally' in **_**X Days – Marked**_**, an **_**X Days**_** prequel! (Prologue's out, now :D)**  
**It's part of an event I call **_**Shibuya Operation – Story Storm**_**, which is a sort of spin-off to **_**The Twelve Shots of Summer**_**, which was hosted by Chronic Guardian.**

**I'll be doing a lot more writing here, because of **_**SOSS**_**, and since we're on the subject, I highly recommend that you check the other participants' works on there; they've done so much for a n00b FanFiction writer, like myself, welcoming me, inviting me to **_**TsoS**_**, and now, participating in **_**SOSS**_**, which I am… Currently not doing a very good job of running…**  
**I'm trying.**

**Anyway!**

**More updates will be coming! :P**

**Later!**  
**-X**

* * *

_Preview of _Chapter VIII – Marked 4 Erasure_:_

"_Leo!" Daniel yelled._

"_Move!" Reagan and Anjelo shouted simultaneously._  
_Leo turned to see a giant, horned Noise Symbol. The largest he had ever seen. Beyond that, it was… Blue. More of a cobalt shade, but certainly a far cry from the usual blood-red Noise Symbols._

"Pyro-_… Aagh…!" Leo stumbled backwards, only now realizing that he had yet to recover his _Pyrokinetics_ Pin from A-East._

"_That was _way_ too easy, Marked Boy." A Reaper stepped out from the shadows._

"_Genkata!" Leo cursed. _Of all the times to attack…

"_It was such an easy Mission. I really thought you'd be a bit less trusting…" Genkata shook his head in disapproval. "Well, anyway. Who wants to fight first?" He grinned in anticipation, but was suddenly interrupted._

KZZZT…!

_A lance of light arced out of the darkness, scoring a direct hit on the Noise Symbol. the Symbol screeched in agony, before exploding into static; wisps of black and white scattered around the area, before fading into nothingness._

"_No Harrier Reapers but you, this Week? Hands-On as always, I see…" A voice issued from far behind the four Players, addressing Genkata._

"_You…" Leo gasped, turning around to see a familiar face. "You're back…!"_

"_What are you trying to do, Isshin Genkata? You're pushing the rules, releasing a Ringleader Noise on Round 1 Players." The newcomer approached the gathered five._

"_Actually… I was trying to lure you out of hiding." Genkata smirked. "Looks like it worked."_

"_You can decide whether or not it 'worked', after this." The newcomer's violet eyes flashed with a fierce energy, as she raised a single, black Pin. "I don't think you want to fight any more than I do." Katy cautioned Genkata, as a bright white light began to encircle her hand._  
_"Final warning."_


End file.
